Does Oahu have counties?

[memorylane]

Re: Does Oahu have counties?

No idea what TANF is but there are satellite city halls on the island.

TANF, at least here anyway, is how the "poor" get food. Temporary Asst. to Needy Families. Unfortunately, it isn't temporary and alot live on it for many a years.

[GeckoGeek]

Re: Does Oahu have counties?

Mahalo!! LOL! I wondered this because of how here in the mainland, the states are split into counties and each county seems to make up their own rules especially where DHS is concerned.

In Hawaii, many functions are at the state level - like Education, Health, etc.

[memorylane]

Re: Does Oahu have counties?

Education at state level? Is that a good thing or bad? My 5th grade son has been needing more and more work from the next grade since kindergarten and attends a gifted class once a week that he is bused to. He wants to do online schooling next year as he has no desire to continue in public schooling since they don't seem to be able to advance him the way he could be advanced. For instance, at the end of third grade, he could have moved himself (based on a state test he was given) on to 5th grade but they didn't recommend it because of his size (whatever that meant).
Do public schools there have online options?

[scrivener]

Re: Does Oahu have counties?

Whole 'nother can o' worms.

Whether a statewide school district is a good idea or not is a subject of unending debate. There are good arguments to be made for and against; I lean pretty hard toward the FOR side.

As you know (and as has been discussed here before), school districts in the other forty-nine states are funded by property taxes. This means that wealthier districts have better schools, as a rule of thumb. When it works the way it should (if it ever works the way it should), a statewide district makes a lot of sense; all funds come out of the state's general fund, so schools in poorer neighborhoods don't necessarily have less money for facilities, teacher salaries, or whatever.

There are those who would argue that it never works this way, that schools in very rural areas don't get their fair share, while schools in more affluent areas are better taken care of. Another argument says that equal funding, even if it existed, is actually unequal funding, since a school like Molokai High needs to be able to pay teachers more if it hopes to attract (and hang onto) good teachers.

There are some public schools with online options, but you're more likely to see that in public charter schools, which provide ways around the system that seems to penalize schools like Molokai High (which remains fully public right now, I'm pretty sure). Since these charter schools can allocate their funds the way they want, teachers can be paid more than their counterparts at public schools.

About every four or eight years, this concept is revisited by aspirants to higher office. Break the school system up into smaller districts so that they can be better managed, especially according to communities' desires and needs. As I said, there're good arguments for this position too, 'though I don't think they outweigh the good reasons for keeping (and fixing) the current system.

[GeckoGeek]

Re: Does Oahu have counties?

Education at state level? Is that a good thing or bad?

As scrivener said, it's a mixed bag. One the plus side, the funding is probably more equal then it would be if it was up to the county. On the downside it's an unbelievable bureaucracy that take all the money given it and demands more. It's perfected the use of "it's for the children" in local politics and any proposed cuts are immediately translated into something that will affect the children. Despite the fact that it's reported that there's more non-teachers then teachers in the system.

I suspect the talk of shifting to community based management is more about dismantling the beast then the belief that it's fundamentally a better structure.

[memorylane]

Re: Does Oahu have counties?

Do kids have the option of doing their lessons online? Here in my town, my son entering 6th grade next year has the option of staying at home and learning just as tho he were in the class. Same for my senior son if he had wanted.

[Amati]

Re: Does Oahu have counties?

From our family experience with the Hawaii DOE:

Q.: Can a student enrolled in the regular elementary/high school public school system, then stay home and watch the lesson(s) on TV, instead of attending in person in the classroom, the answer is NO.

BUT, at the high school level, some classes can be enrolled in for "online" instructions. Lessons are done online anytime they want (with due dates), but there is also a mandatory "group" session during the week.

[lensperson]

Re: Does Oahu have counties?

I can remember my first visit to Hilo.
Looking down Wainuenue from the top of the Saddle Road.
After a very long and bumpy drive we saw a great hamburger stand and had a nice meal.
Hilo is a treasure that few seem to appreciate.

[Pohaku]

Re: Does Oahu have counties?

Here in Oakland, California, where I am currently laboring as a student teacher, the funding is somewhat complicated. The local taxes do provide part of the funding, but the state also puts in a large amount (about half, if I recall correctly what they said at that town meeting). Since California is pretty broke, we've had a hard few years recently. Still, the public schools are supposedly all feeling the pinch equally. The charter schools seem to be booming.

Oakland is a town of very wealthy areas, very poor areas, and some in between. It seems like PTA funds and parent donations of money and skills causes the largest differences between rich and poor schools in unified districts. Of course, there's also racial stuff, politics, etc.

My in-laws are moving to Puna on the Big Island. Makes me about the Hilo area schools.

[Kalalau]

Re: Does Oahu have counties?

Hilo is indeed a treasure.

Queen Liliuokalani's biography said Oakland was her favorite mainland town, it does have some of the nicest weather in the Bay Area. At sunset you can see the sun going down between San Francisco and Marin, it casts a magnificent golden trail at the Golden Gate, I wonder if thats why the passage got the name.

On a hike to Kalaupapa peninsula we met the sheriff of Kalawao County, Richard Marks, a leprosy patient himself and one of the most dynamic, fun, interesting people I have ever met. His pride and joy was a pic of himself and Pope John Paul II. Years later I was sitting in an office in Maui glancing thru a paper and happened on his obituary. The trip to Kalawao was very inspiring, the victory of humans over a horrible disease, the story of the sacrifice by so many kind and decent people to bring mercy and healing to the sick, and the hope of victory over misery when our human race puts its mind to something.

[lensperson]

Re: Does Oahu have counties?

That region of Molokai was the result of an eruption that added that area.
The event was long after the greater portion of the Island appeared.
A most astonishing feature of the region is the very deep lake which is over 800 feet deep.
There have been some scuba diving within the lake, and some initial
artifacts seen from the distant past.
The main crater is protected from wind and signs of habitation are evident.

[Kalalau]

Re: Does Oahu have counties?

This could easily branch off into Hawaiian geology, a pretty interesting topic. I just looked at some of "Roadside Geology of Hawai'i" (Hazlett, Hyndman, Mountain Press), at p. 212 it records the Nu'uanu Slide as one of the largest known slides ever, how could it not have caused a 'horrendous' tsunami all around the Pacific, and volcanic activity in southeastern O'ahu with some eruptions estimated as little as 6,000 years ago--almost only yesterday in geologic terms. Somewhere I recall reading that Diamond Head is only 40,000 years old, that would fit. That, too, is only yesterday geologically. Anyway, geology of the Islands is very interesting, it might be worth starting a new thread if anyone is interested.

[lensperson]

Re: Does Oahu have counties?

The ability of that kind of ash cloud to aggregate and slump and then vanish into the sea is seen in the matter of Pompei and Vesuvius

[lensperson]

Re: Does Oahu have counties?

The region of Molokai that was last added to from volcanic surges
was a rather small area.
The main vent is called Kau Hako.
Nowadays this area is under close investigation because the deep waters of
this mysterious lake are indeed some of the very deepest on earth
Divers have gone down to great depths and report very poor visibility.
The level of the water fluctuates with the tides, hardly surprising with the porous
nature of the igneous rock.
The area below the lip of the original crater rim was settled with small encampments.

[Pohaku]

Re: Does Oahu have counties?

So much to learn and think about. I'm interested in an island geology thread.