Schools spared 2 percent holdback

By Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writer

Gov. Ben Cayetano said yesterday that he will not impose a 2 percent budget restriction on the Department of Education, a welcome relief to school officials who already face a $32 million shortfall.

Cayetano earlier this year said he would impose restrictions on all state agencies because of budget shortfalls. The DOE was told to anticipate a restriction of 2 percent to its $1.3 billion budget for the 2002-03 fiscal year.

But DOE spokesman Greg Knudsen said Cayetano lifted that restriction on the department yesterday. The governor will await the September report of the state Council on Revenue to decide what to do with the rest of the budget, said Cayetano spokesman Cedric Yamanaka.

"We're quite relieved," Knudsen said.

The Board of Education was prepared last night to approve budget allocations that included the 2 percent cut. Schools Superintendent Pat Hamamoto said the board had to act before Cayetano imposed the restriction because the school year has already begun.

"Once you allocate out to the schools, you cannot pull it back because you've either hired or they've purchased supplies or materials. So the money is used," Hamamoto said. "In order to ensure that we don't go into deficit, the department was proactive by doing an internal restriction."

The restrictions would have been across the board and included cuts in staff and teaching positions. Hardest hit would have been school counseling positions and the gifted and talented program, Knudsen said.

Of the 37 school-level job positions that would have been eliminated, 20 would have come from the gifted and talented program, Knudsen said.

Hawai'i State Teachers Association president Karen Ginoza welcomed the governor's decision to hold off the restriction.

"Anytime you get a 2 percent reduction, it does impact the school level," Ginoza said. "The concern you have is you're taking away science equipment, you're taking away music equipment."

But Knudsen said the department still must deal with a $32 million budget shortfall this school year. That includes $19 million more for expenses to cover the Felix consent decree, $4 million for student transportation services, $5.5 million for charter schools, and $3.5 million for requirements in the teacher's contract.

He said more than half of the $32 million will be covered by the federal government and excess salary money, but that still leaves $14.8 million. Knudsen said the department must reassign funds from other programs to make up the shortfall.

In other news, the superintendent's 12th annual report was released yesterday. It described an aging school system that continues to lag behind the rest of the country in spending per student.

The report was presented to the Board of Education and represents a snapshot of Hawai'i's public schools in the 2000-01 school year. The document examines factors that affect the quality of the public schools, including poverty, enrollment, facilities and student-teacher ratios.

The state continues to rank last in the country in the percentage of tax revenue spent on public schools, the report said. In the 2000-01 school year, the state allocated 14.8 percent of state and local tax revenue for the schools, compared with the national average of 24.2 percent.

Ginoza said this number must change.

"People have to understand our schools are underfunded," she said.

Ginoza also said that more must be done to attract new teachers. She pointed to the report, which said 40 percent of teachers here are at least 48 years old, while nearly 70 percent of the principals are at least 52.

Other highlights from the report:

• More than half of the students enrolled in Hawai'i public schools require services because of low family incomes as well as limited English proficiency and are in need of special education services.

• Administrators represent only 2.2 percent of the school system, below the national average of 3.9 percent. This dispels the perception of a bloated, top-heavy bureaucracy, the report said.

• Thirty-two percent of the schools lack adequate administration buildings; 47 percent lack adequate libraries; and 9 percent lack adequate cafeterias. The greatest needs are in the Maui and Hawai'i districts.