Public input sought on plan for Hawaii’s public schools

The public is invited to take an online survey to provide feedback on a draft of a new strategic plan that will steer Hawaii’s public school system for at least the next five years.

When the strategic plan is finalized, which is expected in early 2023, it will be the framework for the state Department of Education, the only statewide public school system in the nation, which has 258 regular public schools serving more than 156,500 students, with a $2.6 billion operating budget and $576 million capital improvement budget.

The survey includes 10 questions seeking reactions to the draft, and four questions about the respondent’s background, and is estimated to take about 10 minutes to complete.

The deadline to take the survey is midnight Jan. 12. Go to 808ne.ws/BOEsurvey1222.

The survey asks the respondent to click on multiple choices ranging from “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree” in response to questions about the draft plan’s vision statement, mission statement, core values and three priority areas: “High quality learning for all,” “High-quality educator workforce in all schools” and “Effective and efficient operations at all levels.” The board reportedly is deciding whether the plan will cover the next five or six years.

The full draft can be viewed at 808ne.ws/BOEdraft121522.

This is the second time the board has posed a public survey on the strategic plan. The board conducted an initial survey with nearly 8,000 respondents and held community meetings in all 15 complex areas to get public input to create the draft.