Rebutting the Rebuttal

On April 16, a letter to the Honolulu Advertiser that I wrote was printed.  I was accused of attacking Roy Takumi in a rebuttal written by Laraine Yasui (a Takumi supporter) in today's Sunday paper.  This is what she wrote:

CHARTER SCHOOLS

LACK OF PROCEDURAL CLARITY WORRISOME

Reed Shiraki's letter ("Charter schools cap should be removed," April 16), criticizing Rep. Roy Takumi's action on removing the cap on charter schools is off base. Shiraki claims that Hawai'i's chance for Race to the Top dollars was hurt by the cap. Unfortunately, he is wrong.

He should consider the application and the comments by the reviewers from the U.S. Department of Education. One wrote, "It is unclear how charter school authorizers approve, monitor, hold accountable, reauthorize, and close charter schools."

Another wrote that the approval process was "murky."As a retired public school teacher, I agree with these reviewers that it makes little sense to allow more charter schools to open until there is greater accountability and transparency.

Shiraki is running against Rep. Takumi in the upcoming election so it's understandable why he wants to attack him.

However, before doing so, Shiraki should do what I always told my students: do your homework and get your facts straight.

Laraine Yasui
Pearl City

This is what I wrote in response:

"Shiraki should do what I always told my students: do your homework and get your facts straight."

But, Ms. Yasui, I did do my homework! Honest!

Retired teacher Yasui also wrote, "Shiraki claims that Hawai'i's chance for Race to the Top dollars was hurt by the cap. Unfortunately, he is wrong."

Nope. This is straight from the Department of Education website: "States that do not have public charter laws or put artificial caps on the growth of charter schools will jeopardize their applications under the Race to the Top Fund," Secretary Duncan said.

Here's the link: http://www2.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2009/06/06082009a.html

In high school, I was always getting busted by my teachers (even when I didn't do anything wrong)... some things never change, I guess.

Letter to the Editor

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