Letter to the Editor
Friday, April 16, 2010 at 08:04AM Printed today in the Honolulu Advertiser:
CHARTER SCHOOLS CAP SHOULD BE REMOVED
Rep. Gene Ward introduced an amendment to Senate Bill 2589 which would have removed the cap on the number of public charter schools allowed in Hawai'i. Rep. Roy Takumi, before leading the charge to defeat this amendment, asked for evidence that proves charter schools are better than regular public schools.
Why does Takumi think that charter schools must first be deemed superior before this cap can be lifted?
This amendment would have increased our competitive chances to receive $75 million from the Race to the Top program. Organizations with pending applications and the thousands of children waiting to go to a charter school would have had the chance to move ahead. This act could have finally shown that our government is able to embrace new ideas in order to improve education. This might have been the spark that ignited lasting reform in Hawai'i.
However, the Democrats in the Legislature are scared that any significant action against the status quo would upset the HSTA luna and cause them to lose the political support of this powerful union.
Dr. Reed Shiraki
Pearl City
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