CHARTER IN CONFLICT
The Kona Pacific Public Charter School campus is seen above the Kona Hospital. PHOTOS BY LAURA RUMINSKI/WEST HAWAII TODAY
COMMISSION WEIGHING ALLEGATIONS THAT SCHOOL VIOLATED CONTRACT BY NOT KEEPING ACCURATE ENROLLMENT DATA
KAILUA-KONA — The state commission
for public charter schools has yet
to make a decision on allegations that a
Kona charter school violated its contract
by failing to maintain accurate enrollment
data, reportedly netting them more
than $300,000 in overpaid funding.
The governing board for Kona Pacific
Public Charter School though is disputing
that figure and said any discrepancies
were the unintentional result of factors
such as an inability to officially disenroll
students without signed parental
consent forms and a lack of clear guidance
to charter schools on enrollment
requirements.
The school’s board further said the
allegations don’t reflect the school’s current
procedures, which were put in place
in the 2015-16 school year, and that
those who were responsible for enrollment
errors are no longer employed at
the school.
Kona Pacific Public Charter School,
located in Kealakekua, is a kindergarten
through eighth-grade charter school
that received a charter from the State
Public Charter School Commission in
November 2007, according to documents
filed with the commission. Its current
charter school contract runs from
2017-2020.
In October 2016, during a previous
contract term that started in 2014, the
school’s principal at the time reported
to the commission about “troubling”
alleged practices in regards to the enrollment,
withdrawal and transfer of students,
according to documents filed with
the commission.
Those practices, documents state,
are alleged to have inflated the school’s
actual enrollment numbers, and improperly
increased its per-pupil funding.
Commission documents put the potential
overpayment amount at more than
$300,000.
Bringing a problem to light
MOVIE SCREENING AIMS TO DISCUSS THE DIFFICULT TOPIC OF SUICIDE
KAILUA-KONA — With suicide
the leading cause of fatal
injury in Hawaii, a local advocate
is looking to get the community
talking about the difficult
issue.
Keeping silent about suicide
makes matters worse,
said Zahava Zaidoff, a substance
abuse and mental
health counselor and prevention
specialist. The silence surrounding
mental health often
causes people seeking help to
feel overwhelmed.
The taboo nature of suicide
prevents people
from pinpointing
and improving
the issue.
“You can’t
solve a problem
you can’t name,”
Zaidoff said,
referring to the
problem’s name
as, “hopelessness.”
To combat feelings of
hopelessness, Zaidoff stressed
the importance of instilling
meaning in others’ lives by fostering
relationships and engaging
in activities, as well as
through general promotion of a
kind and caring society.
“Give a hug, go volunteer,” she
said.
To raise awareness about
the suicide epidemic, Zaidoff
is inviting the community to a
one-night screening of “Suicide,
The Ripple Effect.”
The hard-hitting
documentary follows the journey
of Kevin Hines, a suicide
survivor who jumped off the
Golden Gate Bridge at age 19.
It highlights the promise of
hope, recovery, and the ripple
effect of Hines’ story and life
work.
The event will take place
7-9 p.m. March 26 at Regal
Keauhou Stadium 7 theaters.
Introductions and personal
stories from the community
will open the evening with the
film’s screening starting at 7:30
Locally owned since 1979
p.m. After the film, there will
be a Q&A for 30 minutes. A
resource table will be stocked
with free information.
To attend, $10 tickets must
be bought in advance at https://
gathr.us/screening/22770.
Suicide was the No. 1 cause
of fatal injury in Hawaii from
2012-16, with an average of
186 deaths per year statewide,
according to research from Dr.
Daniel Galanis with the state
Department of Health.
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VOL. 50, NO. 78 20 PAGES
BY GITA HOWARD
WEST HAWAII TODAY
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SEE SUICIDE PAGE 7A
Zaidoff
BY CAMERON MICULKA
WEST HAWAII TODAY
cmiculka@westhawaiitoday.com
A student waters the garden Thursday at Kona Pacific Public Charter
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