Posted on: Friday, March 30, 2001
Library security guards may be cut
By Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writer
Hawai'i's public libraries could lose their security guards as early as April 1 if proposed budget cuts ordered by Gov. Ben Cayetano take effect.
The elimination of the guards couldn't come at a worse time for the public library system because of the possible statewide teacher's strike. If a walkout does occur, libraries could be crowded with children as parents look for a safe place to send them, the state librarian says.
The governor on March 9 ordered all department heads to reduce their budgets by 1 percent to ensure that the state can meet anticipated expenditures for the rest of the fiscal year, which ends June 30. Cayetano also told departments to reduce their fiscal 2002 and 2003 budgets so the state can pay anticipated wage increases of $55 million to $115 million each year.
State Librarian Virginia Lowell told the Board of Education last night that a victim of this year's cuts may be security guards provided to the libraries by the state Department of Public Safety. She said Public Safety Director Ted Sakai called her on Tuesday to warn her that his department's cuts would include $172,000 for the guards.
Lowell said she may be forced to slash her end-of-the-year budget by $206,249 and can't afford to pay for the guards. The library's cuts included money for five Internet kiosks.
Lowell said the guards play a big role in maintaining order at public libraries, particularly the main branch downtown. With the potential for hundreds of Island children flocking to the libraries during a teacher's strike, things could get out of hand, she said.
"Many of our libraries want security guards after school because that's a critical time," Lowell said. "There are hoards of kids coming in, and there just needs to be somebody there to give them a bit of discipline."
She said she didn't know if money for the guards would be renewed at the beginning of the next fiscal year July 1.
Lowell also submitted an outline of projects that would not get money over the next two years if the governor moves ahead with plans to cut the budgets by $55 million to $115 million. The library system would have to cut anywhere from $2 million to $4.3 million each year.
The project that would be most affected is the Kapolei Library, which was scheduled to open in mid-2002. Lowell said the cuts would delay "indefinitely" the completion of the library.
Other cuts would affect the bookmobile and library repair programs, and would reduce the number of student hires.
Instead, Lowell said she will concentrate money on sustaining and expanding the library's collections. She also wants to ensure that library hours aren't reduced.
"There's a lot of good PR that we're going to lose if we can't sustain the services that we already have," she said. "Is opening a new library of equal value to providing a quality level of service and collection access in current libraries? How do you equate that? If you look at those numbers, the dollars and cents say that the Kapolei Library is a much bigger drag on our budget than rebuilding our collection."
The board also voted to seek a lump-sum reduction of $5.1 million or $10.6 million to accommodate the governor's budget cut demand. Cayetano had asked each department to submit a list of priorities for recommended cuts.
But the board said the cuts and restrictions should be made later by the Department of Education.
"Action at this time is premature and begs short-sighted solutions based solely on the need to identify programs for cuts rather than from program effectiveness criteria," schools Superintendent Paul LeMahieu said.
