A bill at the state Legislature would expand Hawaiʻi public charter school contracts from five years to a decade.
Sen. Lorraine Inouye, who introduced Senate Bill 2177, said charter schools struggle to secure long-term leases due to the timing of their contracts, specifically pointing to Ka ʻUmeke Kāʻeo in Hilo.
“They want to expand their school, and they have problems because going to their financing operations or banks to ask for at least some help in addressing the expansions of their present school,” she told HPR.
“So it's difficult, because one of the issues came up and most importantly, was the number of years they have on their leases."
Hawaiʻi has 37 public charter schools, serving more than 12,000 students statewide. The schools operate under a performance contract with the state Public Charter School Commission, the authority that decides whether to renew a school's contract every five years.
The essential agreement between the charter school and the commission involved articulating schools' autonomy, funding, administration and oversight, outcomes, measures for evaluating success and performance consequences.
If the bill becomes law, the contract would give schools an extra five years for a contract renewal.
However, the authority may decide based on the performance and other circumstances of each charter school, according to the language of the bill.
The bill was referred to the Senate Committees on Education, and Ways and Means. If approved, the measure will cross over to the House for further review.
