HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

76

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2004

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

requesting the governor to convene a blue ribbon commission to determine the necessary increases in revenues for the production of a public school system dedicated to the success of every child.

 

WHEREAS, Hawaii's children are the State's most important resource and our future depends on their education, health, welfare, and economic and cultural wellbeing; and

WHEREAS, the Legislature finds that the public education system in Hawaii needs to be improved, with student achievement as the guiding principle behind this effort; and

WHEREAS, efforts to ensure the success of every student must be supported by adequate funding and institutional support; and

WHEREAS, the allocation of funds to individual schools must be performed in a manner which ensures that adequate funds are appropriated to schools which demonstrate the greatest need, including taking into consideration the costs associated with educating regular education, special education, special needs, English as a Second Language, or mentally, physically, or psychologically disabled students; and

WHEREAS, a proposed method for addressing current problems with funding issues is the utilization of a weighted student formula for providing operating moneys to individual public schools and school complexes; and

WHEREAS, the use of a weighted student formula requires that moneys be allocated to schools based upon a system of weights which apply to every student in the public schools, determined by calculating the cost of educating a theoretical "baseline" student with no measurable impediments to learning, and, subsequently, a specified set of criteria is determined which will allow the calculation to apply to any student; and

WHEREAS, there is currently no true accounting for the cost of educating a child; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-Second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2004, the Senate concurring, that the Governor is requested to convene a Blue Ribbon Commission to determine the revenues necessary for producing a public school system that is committed to the success of every child; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Commission is requested to consist of eighteen members to be appointed by the Governor as follows:

(1) Three teachers from a list of candidates submitted by the Hawaii State Teachers Association;

(2) Three administrators from a list of candidates submitted by the Hawaii Government Employees Association;

(3) Two members of the Hawaii Parent Teacher Student Association;

(4) Two members from the Hawaii Business Roundtable;

(5) One member from a list of candidates submitted by the Chairperson of the House of Representatives Committee on Education;

(6) One member from a list of candidates submitted by the Chairperson of the Senate Standing Committee on Education;

(7) Two members from a list of candidates submitted by the Chairperson of the Board of Education;

(8) Three members from a list of candidates submitted by the Superintendent of Education; and

(9) One member selected by the Governor;

and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Commission is tasked with the following in making its determination as to the amount of revenues necessary for producing a public school system that is committed to the success of every child:

(1) Develop and calculate a funding standard for all school levels — elementary school, middle school, and high school ─ to determine the base cost of educating a regular, special education, or special needs child;

(2) Establish criteria for the development of a funding standard to encompass costs associated with but not limited to facilities, teaching support, textbooks, and classroom supplies;

(3) Review and analyze what must be done to optimize student achievement;

(4) Compare and examine why some schools are equipped with better facilities than other schools and develop actions plans as to how to equalize the situation; and

(5) Make recommendations, including proposed legislation for the improved funding of public schools;

and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Blue Ribbon Commission is requested to submit a report of its findings and recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2005; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, the Superintendent of Education, the Chairperson of the Board of Education, the President of the Hawaii State Teachers Association, the Executive Director of the Hawaii Government Employees Association, the President of the Hawaii Parent Teacher Student Association, and the Chairperson of the Hawaii Business Roundtable.

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

Blue Ribbon Commission; Necessary Revenues for Public School Funding