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The Honolulu Advertiser, April 11, 2003 —
In almost any endeavor, it is useful to follow the money.
That is, you can say what you will, but the real
power goes where the money is.
In this context, it is both refreshing and hopeful
that an idea to change the way the public school budget is spent
has suddenly gained momentum. The idea was stimulated by the visit
here of management guru William Ouchi, who reported on a recent
UCLA study on school governance.
One of that study's findings, Ouchi said, was that
schools perform better when their principals control their own budget
and are held directly accountable for their performance.
That seems to have jump-started a proposal that would
change the way our schools get and spend their money. Money would
be allotted according to a fairly sophisticated per-pupul formula,
and spending decisions would be largely in the hands of individual
principals.
If adopted, this would put fiscal muscle behind a
move already under way to leave more decision-making in the hands
of the individual schools and school complexes.
While it undoubtably will take time to work out details
of the plan, there are srong signs that it enjoys support from Schools
Superintendent Pat Hamamoto, the unions, key legislators, and Gov.
Linda Lingle.
Politically, that's a winning combination.
It's long been known that the key to good performance
of any school is a dedicated, dynamic, hands-on principal. That's
true even in Hawai'i, where the tradition has been for strong central
control of education.
Giving principals the flexibility and power to manage
their own budgets and - and this is very important- holding them
accountable could make a major difference in our public education
system.
In effect, this budget plan would treat principals
more like the chief executives they already are. It should also
pave the way for another long-overdue reform: removing principals
from their union, paying them the executive salaries they deserve
and putting them on performance contracts.
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