In 1993 and 1994, as chair of the House Committee on Education, I was responsible for passing two omnibus education bills (HB 2156 and HB 3657) which gave our public schools the most comprehensive restructuring the State has ever seen. The bills enacted reforms in seven areas: 1) Budget and Funding; 2) Assessment and Accountability; 3) Innovations, Incentives, and Leadership; 4) Facilities; 5) State Constitution; 6) Department Restructuring; and 7)Student Centered Schools.

The information age and technology explosion presents unprecedented challenges and demands fundamental changes in Hawaii’s schools in order to intellectually and technically prepare our children for the 21st century. House Bills 2156 and 3657 are a commitment to putting children first by providing them with an education that will teach and motivate them to become critical thinkers and lifelong learners. The fundamental principle is to empower teachers, school administrators, staff and parents closest to the student to make curriculum, funding, and restructuring changes.

We began laying the groundwork for a complete restructuring of the Hawaii public school system with HB 2156 by enacting reforms in the following four areas:

Budget and Funding - The Legislature gave theDepartment of Education (DOE) greater budgetary flexibility by allowing the DOE to carry over funds from one fiscal year to the next thus eliminating hasty purchasing decisions with the "use it or lose it" mentality.

Assessment and Accountability - The public now has a better focus on student progress since the Board of Education (BOE) is required to prepare an annual education status report which includes results of school-by-school assessments, summaries of school improvement plans, comparison of Hawaii's Schools with other states, and summaries of resource allocation and expenditures. In addition, school/community-based management (SCMB) schools can develop and implement their own student assessment mechanisms.

Innovation and Incentives - Under the Incentive and Innovation Grant Program, a trust fund was created to receive state and private monies to be used as incentives to fund innovation in the schools.

Leadership - We encouraged schools to consider a longer school day or year through the collective bargaining process but gave SCBM schools the right to initiate a waiver from policies, rules, or procedures including collective bargaining agreements. Also, we appropriated funds to implement performance-based, retention, and differentiated pay adjustments for qualifying school principals in an effort to encourage excellence among our faculty.

Facilities - The State educational facilities improvement special fund is now permanent thus ensuring that our children’s facilities needs are met. We authorized the issuance of $180 million in general obligation bonds for deposit into this fund and now require our superintendent to prepare a facilities improvement master plan in an effort to close the gap between school facilities needs and resources.

We continued our reform with HB 3657 which empowered school members such as faculty, staff, students, and parents to personally manage their own school. The bill enacted reform in these three areas:

First Amendment - Should our schools be governed by an appointed board? The answer is for the public to decide. For the first time in history, Hawaii’s citizens were given the opportunity to cast a vote for or against an appointed board.

Second Amendment - We also asked the people to decide whether or not the Board’s powers should be limited to formulating statewide educational policy and appointing the Superintendent of Education as the chief executive officer of the public school system.

Department Restructuring - The DOE now serves as the central support system responsible for the administration of statewide educational policy and systemwide budgeting. We separated the DOE’s operating budget between administrative and instructional costs and limited administrative costs to 6.5% of the total budget. And we require the BOE to establish and measure statewide performance standards as outlined in the final report by the Performance Standards Commission.

Student Centered Schools - Up to 25 schools in Hawaii can become student-centered schools such as Waialae Elementary. Student Centered Schools have total control of how the school is run; it is responsible for establishing a local board whose duties are to formulate school-based educational policy and goals as well as developing a detailed implementation plan that complies with statewide student performance standards. Student-Centered Schools follows the charter school movement that is currently viewed as the best mechanism for "break-the-mold" schools for the 21st century.

In 1995-1996, I served as chair of the Senate Higher Education Committee where I continued to champion the cause for education. I believe that the University of Hawaii has the potential to become a world class learning institution with top tier programs in super computers, biotechnology, astronomy, information technology, asian/pacific studies, and ocean and earth sciences.

The University of Hawaii is internationally recognized for its curriculum and research programs, some of which include oceanography, Hawaiian studies, and electrical engineering. To help facilitate and accelerate excellence, I authored a bill to give the University increased fiscal autonomy and the complete authority to set tuition, provide tuition waivers, and keep all tuition income it receives. In addition, the University budget was re-structured with funds provided in lump sums. The University is now in position to decide funding priorities without interference from the legislature or the executive branch of government. The University can initiate programs that can generate income and revenues and keep the "profits." With increased fiscal autonomy, the University can be more innovative and responsive to changing technology, challenges, and opportunities. Finally, the University is also allowed to carry over funds, which encourages well-planned strategic program investments and purchasing decisions that support the University in the long-term.