THE Rev. Dr. Donald K. Johnson has been pastor of the Lutheran Church of Honolulu for 28 years. He and his wife, Ruth, attended public schools. Their three sons are graduates of Kalani High, Kaimuki Intermediate and Kahala Elementary (where Ruth teaches) in the DOE system. And now the next generation -- seven hapa grandchildren -- are at various public school campuses on Oahu and in Iowa. A pastor’s passion
for public educationSo earlier this year, when the state Legislature boosted the "allocation ratio" for kindergarten class size at public schools from 20-1 to 21-1, Johnson got angry. He became even more huhu on learning that the Mokulele kindergarten class being taught by his daughter-in-law, Monica Johnson, had 28 tykes in it. What's more, his granddaughter's third-grade class at Ahuimanu has 32 kids.
Twenty-eight? Thirty-two? What's going on, thought Johnson? That's when the 62-year-old Kaneohe resident did some serious contemplation, and came upon a revelation.
The problem was simple, according to the pastor. "I see a lot of people in the DOE and Legislature who have the wherewithal to put their kids in private schools, thus abandoning their enthusiasm to make sure the public schools are quality," he says. "As a result, Hawaii is moving more and more toward a Brazil, where there is an elite class. And we wonder why we're having such economic problems?"
Johnson was so sure about this observation that he authored a "Resolution on Responsible Funding of Public Education" that he presented to a sub-board of the Pacifica Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The resolution reads, in part:
"WHEREAS in the State of Hawaii, there has been a gradual erosion in the funding of Public Education over the past twenty years...and,
"WHEREAS many successful community leaders have the personal resources to send their children to private schools that they judge better...than public schools, thus compromising their enthusiasm to advocate for quality public education, and,
"WHEREAS it is a statistical fact that countries with the most vigorous economies have the vast majority of their children attending public schools...and,
"WHEREAS it is a conflict of interest in legislators who pay for private education for their own children and then make choices that underfund public education and thereby starve public schools of adequate resources...
"THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the voters of Hawaii hold every elected leader and every employee of the DOE to a commitment, supported by their personal choices, to fund and nurture public education until all public schools are the best choice for the children of its leaders."
Johnson is confident that the resolution will be passed by the full Pacific Synod Assembly next spring. And one day, when he retires as pastor, Johnson predicts that he is going to become a particularly "gnarly" lobbyist for the cause of bettering public education in Hawaii.
In the meantime, he wants state legislators and DOE officials to ponder the significance of any decision to keep their own kids out of the public school system.
"Every parent should be responsible for finding the best education for his or her child," says Johnson.
"But if you are a leader of this community, you have a responsibility to the people you lead. And if you are compromising your responsibility with your choices, I don't want you to lead me."