The Hawaiʻi State Public Charter School Commission yesterday voted to revoke the charter contract for Hālau Lōkahi Charter School over the school’s failure to meet generally accepted standards of fiscal management and its resulting legal and contractual violations. The decision was rendered after a day-long hearing that had been requested by the charter school’s governing board after the Commission initiated the revocation procedure in January.

To further assist the remaining students and families with the transitions to other schools, the Commission authorized the release of about $36,700 for each of the months of April and May to allow students to finish the rest of the school year. The school will close on May 29, 2015.

“The Commission felt that our staff made a very convincing case that this school just had to be closed,” said Commission Chairperson Catherine Payne. “At the same time, some students had not yet transferred to new schools while this hearing was pending, and we have only two months left to go in this school year.”

The hearing was the culmination of nearly a year of Commission proceedings involving the financially troubled school. After months of school efforts to bring down expenses and restructure, the Commission voted on January 8, 2015, to reject the school’s latest recovery plan, initiate the revocation process, and withhold further funding except for orderly school closure and dissolution and transition. Hālau Lōkahi exercised its option to request a hearing in order to have a last opportunity to oppose the grounds for revocation and support the school’s continuation.

“This is an important moment of truth for charter schooling in Hawaii, but it has been painful for everyone involved,” said Commission Executive Director Tom Hutton. “The mismanagement of this school has had many victims—not only this school community, but also the general public. In the end, we are all committed to working together to do what is best for students, and the Commission is assisting the school’s governing board with reopening the school for two last months and preparing for its dissolution.”