State can't stall Felix responsibility

In their clash of wills with federal Judge David Ezra, House Speaker Calvin Say and Senate President Bobby Bunda are playing a losing hand, and — more to the point — they’re betting somebody else’s money.

Hawai‘i taxpayers’ money, to be exact. Judge Ezra warned last week that if state lawmakers won’t find the money needed to bring special education up to standards the state long ago agreed to, then he’ll find it for them.

Ezra holds all the cards: He can divert federal funds earmarked for other state purposes to special education; he can appoint a special master to take over the state’s education system; he can fine the state tens of thousands of dollars a day. These are not idle threats; they’ve happened elsewhere.

The protests of Say and Bunda are toothless. The state long ago, when it settled the Felix lawsuit, promised and then failed to deliver compliance — and the state waived any right of appeal.

In their defense, Say and Bunda point to a state auditor’s report that identifies serious and expensive inefficiencies in the administration of special-education programs. Ezra says there will be plenty of time to iron out those problems, once the state reaches compliance.

State Schools Superintendent Paul LeMahieu has acknowledged concerns about the spiraling cost of Felix and the growing number of children identified as special education — from 13,000 in 1994 to nearly 23,000 today.

But he said that after years of neglecting children with special needs, Hawai‘i is only now just reaching the national averages in spending and identification.

That means Say and Bunda are within their rights to insist that Felix spending be more efficient. But Say’s assertion that his concern is "getting services to the child" is contradicted by his remedy — cutting back Felix spending.

The state’s performance right up until the last couple of years was nothing short of shameful and immoral. Ezra has made it clear he will tolerate no excuse for legislative backsliding, and he’s right.

For his part, Gov. Cayetano doesn’t seem to have brought much to the table with his suggestion that a central authority or "czar" oversee Felix issues.

LeMahieu had it about right when he mused: "I just need to know what the problem is that a czar would solve."

Another way to look at it is that coordinating conflicting responsibilities in state government is Cayetano’s job. Isn’t central authority just another name for governor?

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