HONOLULU- A blistering report released Thursday by the
Hawaii state auditor alleges little to no oversight of the state’s public charter school system.
In one instance, four schools could not verify student enrollment during the 2009-2010 school year, resulting in possible overcharges to the state. One school in particular could not account for the enrollment of twenty-eight students.
“You multiply twenty-eight by the state's general fund allocation (and) that's $161,000 that maybe, maybe was more than the school could have claimed,” said State Auditor Marion Higa. Under state law, each charter school received $5,753 per student during the 2009-2010 school year.
While public charter schools are tasked with being flexible in how they meet state and federal education guidelines, Higa found little to no oversight of the ten schools her staff examined.
“You don't get flexibility to just do as you darn well please, but don't perform for the students,” she said.
At Myron B. Thompson Academy in Kakaako, the audit found a part-time registrar who was paid an “administrative differential” that boosted his annual salary to $55,200 – a 212 percent increase. Overall, staff at Thompson Academy was found to have been overpaid $133,000.
Myron K. Thompson, a co-chair of Thompson’s Academy’s school board, disputed much of the audit’s findings in a phone interview with Khon2.
“We found that there was a whole bunch of inaccuracies in their reporting, mainly because it was done in 2009 and 2010,” said Thompson. “We have even stronger oversight now into what goes on in the school.”
MISREPRESENTED TEST SCORES
According to the 75 page report, schools examined in the audit misrepresented test scores for reading and math under No Child Left Behind. Halau Ku Mana Public Charter School is said to have painted a misleading picture by focusing on test scores for a single grade level.
“In their annual assessment they made it appear as though the one favorable grade result applied to all of their school,” said Higa. “Many of the schools by and large are not doing too badly in reading, but the math scores, by and large, are really pathetic.”
NO OVERSIGHT
The audit also delivers criticism to the Charter School Review Panel, a group of twelve volunteers tasked with authorizing charter schools and holding them accountable to state and federal standards.
According to the report, the review panel focused on its duties as an authorizer and re-authorizer of charter schools while “removing itself – and outside oversight – from the charter school system.” Instead of applying direct oversight over schools, the audit says the review panel relied on annual audits performed by individual schools that were often inaccurate, misleading or vague.
“It's unverified (and) there are big ranges in how the schools understand particular parts of it that they have to fill out,” said Higa.
Ruth Tschumy, a member of the Charter School Review Panel, told Khon2 the panel is doing all that it can under Hawaii law.
“We need more tools, we need statute changes,” said Tschumy. “Right now it takes us nearly a year of required steps to place a school on probation.”
“We want to provide that oversight," added Anne Freese, another member of the review panel, "but we don’t have the authority in a number of situations to do the oversight in a responsible manner.”
The executive director of the Hawaii Public Charter Schools Network, a non-profit group dedicated to ensuring charter school excellence, believes new legislation is needed to improve how charter schools operate.
“There are some things that we would have to tighten up on our laws and make sure that there are clear roles and responsibilities in the charter school sector,” said Lynn Finnegan, a former republican state representative who served as minority leader and ran for lieutenant governor in 2010.
CRIMINAL WRONGDOING?
Higa would not confirm if any of the audit’s findings have been turned over the state Attorney General’s office for possible criminal investigation, however a state task force, which will make recommendations to lawmakers on how to improve the public charter school system, did exactly that earlier this year.
“We referred the Byron B. Thompson situation to the Attorney General’s office for investigation last spring because we couldn’t get the answers we needed,” said Tschumy, a sitting member of the Charter School Governance, Accountability, and Authority Task Force.
In fiscal year 2010, charter school funding in Hawaii, which includes both state and federal monies, reached $74.6 million. Hawaii’s 32 public charter schools serve about 9,100 students in grades K through 12.
Click Here to read the complete audit
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