As your State House Representative for District 5, my focus objectives are below:

Education

• Citizen elected BOE/DOE positions vs Governor elected 

• School boards for each island within the state of Hawaiʻi

• Preview and feedback process for families in terms of state testing, surveys, or lessons being administered to students across the state

• Streamlined opt in process for families in regards to state testing, surveys, or lessons being administered to students across the state

• Identify departments, roles, and jobs that can be dissolved within the BOE/DOE to move qualified and licensed teachers back into the classroom. In turn, the funding for the dissolved departments, roles, and jobs go straight into teacher pay. 

• Prioritize funding for early childhood education and preschool programs 

• Transition to standardized testing for students in grades 5, 8, and 11 only with parental OPT IN.

• Competitive incentive stipends for any teacher or support staff member involved in school leadership or extracurricular roles outside of their paid position.

Family

• Prioritize programs to certify bus drivers and offer a competitive salary and incentives to provide adequate transportation for public school students

• Integrate a homeschool committee or department to implement requirements and guidelines to allow for homeschooled students the opportunity to play sports. In this sense, instead of schools losing funding when students are withdrawn or homeschooled, they can receive a stipend amount for the season that the student will be participating in extracurriculars

• Implement a school choice program similar to Arizonaʻs Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA)

• Collaborate to build a program with community colleges to offer trade school courses or internships as high school electives for students

• Creation of a BOE branch for each island to allow for transparency, accountability, and fairness regarding ALL school related issues. This will allow the space for monthly in person board meetings on each island for families to be SEEN and HEARD

Community

• Secure funding and follow through to construct fields and sport complex areas for large communities with lack of infrastructure

• Prioritizing funding to fix basketball courts, playground structures, water fountains, and lights in state and county parks that remain inoperable to our keiki

• Protect methods like hunting, fishing, and propane usage as a way to sustain families and their lifestyles

• Creating a system that will hold state house district representatives and their county council representatives accountable for reporting real issues and concerns from their constituents

• Utilize tourism by implementing usage fees for roadways, state parks and beaches, and utilities like electricity, water, and trash, that go straight into the upkeep and maintenance of our island

• Preserving historical landmarks and places in areas that residents are opposed to development