Board, director resignations revive ailing charter school

Halau Lokahi Public Charter School has a new lease on life after its governing board and director Laara Allbrett agreed to resign as required by a new contract with the state Charter School Commission.

The Kalihi school had run up a debt of more than $400,000, stopped paying rent in February and couldn’t cover its payroll May 20, effectively laying off its entire staff in June. But commissioners gave it another chance after hearing emotional pleas from parents and teachers who said closing the campus would hurt students.

"Halau Lokahi is not shutting down. In fact, we are recruiting more students to our online and on-site programs, kindergarten through 12," school founder and longtime director Allbrett said at a news conference Tuesday. "We invite families to join us in this unique educational experience that is provided here."

She was flanked by governing board members who are also stepping down, including her son-in-law, Kalani Kalima, who helped found the charter school in 2001 and is now a teacher. Students, including a few wearing malo and carrying conch shells, held signs calling for equal funding for charter schools.

Along with the wholesale change in leadership, the new contract signed Monday calls for the school to boost enrollment to 225 students, pay its debts and cover its costs through the next school year, as its financial plan proposes. The school has appealed to the governor for help, and Allbrett asked for "angels" to step forward and help repay the debt, mostly salaries and rent.

"I really send out a plea, to our Hawaiian community especially: If you’re in a position to kokua, please help Halau Lokahi be the kind of school we intended it to be," she said.

Commissioners Peter Hano­hano and Kale­hua Krug are working with school staff and parents to identify new board members, and an announcement is expected after a meeting Monday.

"I think the students and everybody is happy that the school is going to continue," said Milton Coleman, an educational specialist. "It’s kind of sad that Auntie Laara is kind of being the scapegoat. She was really trying."

"One of the things the commission was really strong on is they want to see the philosophy and mission is kept intact," he said.

The Kalihi school offers a hands-on curriculum focused on Hawaiian studies for its on-site students, lifting up many who previously struggled or failed in mainstream public schools. It also offers online education to students working from home.

It charges no tuition and depends on per-pupil funding from the state and Hawaiian trusts, so enrollment is crucial to its cash flow. The school started the last academic year with 183 students, 50 fewer than projected, largely because of the departure of online students. It ended the academic year with 169 students, one-third of them online learners, Allbrett said.

School leaders blamed the school’s financial straits on the state, saying it shortchanges charter schools, which get no money for facilities. Halau Lokahi receives $6,000 per child per year from the state, like other charter schools, plus $1,500 from Kame­ha­meha Schools per student and about $400 for each Hawaiian child from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

By contrast, the state spends about $12,000 per student annually in regular public schools, according to the most recent superintendent’s annual report.

"We have been providing education for high-risk students," Allbrett said. "It can’t be done without the appropriate funding."

She deflected questions about her responsibility for the financial shortfall and the size of the staff, 23 at last count.

"The fact that we’ve been open for 13 years, basically in the same boat, I think it’s a miracle," she said. "We’ve done everything we could to keep the school rolling in a quality manner."

At last week’s commission meeting, staff members warned that removing the leadership would rip out the heart and soul of the school.

"You take away the board, you take away the director, you take away the essence of the school," said Kari Kalima, Allbrett’s daughter, a parent at the school and its operations specialist.

But commissioners, who serve as volunteers, said school leaders had to be held accountable for the way they managed the school’s finances, particularly taxpayer dollars. They pointed out that other charter schools succeed even without funding from the Hawaiian trusts.

"You have to steer the ship, the canoe has to be paddled," Commissioner Peter Tomozawa said. "If that direction is endangering the livelihood of that school, of the charter school system, then responsibility needs to be taken."

Emotions ran high at that meeting, which took a dramatic turn when teacher Hina Wong-Kalu, frowning and speaking forcefully in Hawaiian, flung a handful of Hawaiian sea salt in the face of the commission’s executive director, Tom Hutton, who had recommended closing the school and was seated a couple of feet behind her. He calmly shook it out of his hair and clothes.

Wong-Kalu did not attend the news conference Tuesday. Asked about the incident, Kalani Kalima said Hawaiian salt is used "to cleanse, to purify, to bless — not just bless, but also to rebuke."

"She was a bit passionate with that paa­kai," he added.

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^ CORRECTION: A quote from Commissioner Peter Tomozawa was incorrectly attributed to Peter Hanohano in an earlier version of this story and in the Wednesday print edition.

Also, the Legislature has mandated that charter school students receive equal state funding — outside of facility costs — as students in regular public schools. In addition to the $6,000 per pupil that the state pays annually to each charter school, the state also covers the cost of fringe benefits such as health insurance and retirement benefits for charter school employees, as well as special education costs for charter school students. Charters also receive federal aid. The story did not describe the additional charter school funding beyond the $6,000 per pupil.