Editorials
Tuesday, September 30, 1997ONE of Governor Cayetano's ideas about making education more efficient is to close down unneeded schools -- at least schools he thinks aren't needed. He once proposed closing the University of Hawaii Laboratory School. Nothing came of that, although as governor Cayetano appoints members of the Board of Regents, which calls the shots for UH. Need for appointed
Board of EducationNow the governor has proposed shutting Central Intermediate School, where enrollment has been dropping. Schools Superintendent Herman Aizawa quickly responded that the Department of Education has no plans to close or consolidate any schools.
A spokeswoman for the governor said he supports school consolidation but the decision rests with the Board of Education. True. And the board is elected, which means that it doesn't take orders from the governor. It should.
The board's chairwoman, Karen Knudsen, pointed out that the rules require open hearings if a school is being considered for closure, and there are specific requirements such as failure to use one-third of the classrooms.
Administrators can't just decide to close a school, she said.
The rules make sense because closing schools should not be decided arbitrarily. Nevertheless this case points up a problem with the current system. The governor simply has no authority with regard to educational policy questions such as this, because the Department of Education is run by an elected board.
If the governor appointed the board, he would have a say -- as he should -- in how the public school system is administered. If he felt that a school should be closed, the board and the department would at least feel compelled to look into the question.
Whether Central Intermediate should be closed is not the issue. It's the governor's lack of authority over the educational system. The citizens elect the governor but refuse to let him run the school system, which is the biggest department in state government. Yet in every gubernatorial election, education is an issue. An appointed school board would solve the problem.
FEDERAL attorneys face a tougher challenge in the trial of Terry Nichols for the Oklahoma City bombing than they encountered in obtaining a jury's conviction and death sentence for Timothy McVeigh. Unlike McVeigh, Nichols was not present at the bombing, and a key prosecution witness in the McVeigh trial has said Nichols sought to end his involvement in the plot to blow up the federal office building. Second bombing trial
THAI Prime Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh has survived a vote of confidence but in the nation and the international financial community there is scant confidence in the government's ability to lead Thailand out of its economic crisis. Vote in Thailand
Thailand has achieved dramatic economic growth despite a corrupt and inefficient political system. Now, however, the effects of mismanagement are being felt -- not only in Thailand but also in its neighbors, which have been infected by the loss of confidence. It would have been better for economic recovery if Chavalit had lost that vote and been forced to resign.
Rupert E. Phillips, CEO
John M. Flanagan, Editor & Publisher
David Shapiro, Managing Editor
Diane Yukihiro Chang, Senior Editor & Editorial Page Editor
Frank Bridgewater & Michael Rovner, Assistant Managing Editors
A.A. Smyser, Contributing Editor
