HCR41.DOC

WHEREAS, Act 51, Session Laws of Hawaii 2004 (Act 51), also known as the "Reinventing Education Act of 2004", was designed to provide comprehensive education reform in Hawaii's public schools by, among other things, reducing the bureaucracy within the Department of Education and focusing more resources and control at the individual school level; and

WHEREAS, Act 51 established a weighted student formula for allocating operating funds to individual public schools that uses a system of weighted characteristics affecting the relative cost of educating each student; and

WHEREAS, Act 51 also enhanced decision-making at the school level by increasing principals' budgeting authority and spending flexibility, making principals more accountable for determining methods to improve student achievement; and

WHEREAS, because the weighted student formula allocates school funds based on student need, there have been concerns that some schools would lose money and resources to a degree that would harm student achievement; and

WHEREAS, there have also been doubts regarding the ability of school principals to meet the increased demands and responsibilities that Act 51 places upon them, including greater control over school budgets; and

WHEREAS, in 2006, the Auditor performed a management audit of Kailua High School that provided a preliminary assessment of the ability of public schools to meet the new requirements of Act 51; and

WHEREAS, the Auditor concluded in its Report No. 06-06, that stronger leadership and better management practices were needed to prepare Kailua High School for greater autonomy and responsibility for decision-making and educational outcomes under Act 51; and

WHEREAS, the Auditor's report noted that "the deficiencies evident at Kailua High suggest that other Hawai'i schools may be similarly unprepared to shoulder the additional responsibility delegated by Act 51"; and

WHEREAS, according to a 2010 news report, the Auditor stated that a comprehensive management audit of the Department of Education, including a school-by-school audit, would require significant amounts of money and time; and

WHEREAS, an audit of a single public school would be more practical and would provide an updated example of how the weighted student formula and school management under Act 51 have been working in actual practice; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-sixth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2011, the Senate concurring, that the Auditor is requested to perform a financial and management audit of Kealakehe High School; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature requests that the financial and management audit, using the example of Kealakehe High School, include an evaluation of:

(1) The effectiveness of the weighted student formula established under section 302A-1303.6, Hawaii Revised Statutes, in allocating school funds;

(2) The performance of the school principal in meeting the school management responsibilities set forth in Act 51, Session Laws of Hawaii 2004, and whether principals can be reasonably expected to meet these responsibilities based on this example; and

(3) Any deficiencies identified in school management practices under the requirements of Act 51, Session Laws of Hawaii 2004; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the principal of Kealakehe High School is requested to cooperate fully with the Auditor in the conduct of the financial and management audit; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Auditor is requested to submit the results of the financial and management audit, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2012; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Auditor, the Chairperson of the Board of Education, and the Principal of Kealakehe High School.

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:

Kealakehe High School; Financial and Management Audit

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	41
TWENTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE, 2011
STATE OF HAWAII