Schools lost grants for lack of programs
By Jennifer Hiller
Advertiser Education Writer
The Department of Education lost more than $528,000 in federal grant money last year because it never got around to spending it.
The department spent $134 million on 80 projects, grants and programs in the 2000-20001 fiscal year, and still has $217 million in federal money available to spend, according to an audit given to the Board of Education yesterday.
The $528,210 in lapsed grants represents a fraction of 1 percent of the federal money received, but board members questioned the reasoning for returning money to the federal government when it could have benefitted a school system that has struggled financially.
"Sometimes I wonder what our state people are doing to monitor," said board member Sherwood Hara. "If the schools aren't using it, pull it back and give it to the schools that are using it. Reward the schools that are doing a good job."
Federal money normally must be returned to the government if it is not spent in 27 months, said program auditor Robert McClelland said.
"If you look at the balance, that's a lot of money," said board chairman Herbert Watanabe. "Spend the money."
Hara was especially upset about $58,735 in lapsed money for vocational education. He said he has learned that another $325,000 of the $1.4 million that is still available could be lost within the next two months.
The federal money that was lost included $3,497 for adult basic education, $27,911 for drug-free schools and communities programs, $26,145 for emergency immigrant education and $82,068 for the Native Hawaiian special education project.
Board member Karen Knudsen noted that some of the programs let only $20 in federal money lapse, while others let tens of thousands go. But she said that board members should keep the amount of lapsed money in perspective. "While we don't want any money to go, it's still one-fourth of 1 percent," she said.
Superintendent Pat Hamamoto said she will have a report to board members by the September meeting on what the district is doing to track the federal grant money and make sure it is used.
Meanwhile, the board sent back to committee a proposal that would double the school bus fare to $1 per day. The DOE says the increase is financially necessary even though it is likely to decrease ridership.
The fare would increase from 25 cents to 50 cents per ride to help make up part of a projected $4 million deficit in the DOE's $26-million transportation program.
But some who testified last night said parents of regular education students are being forced to pay for a deficit caused by the high cost of transporting special education students. It costs nearly as much to bus Hawai'i's 3,300 special education students ($11 million) as it does to bus the other 30,000 regular public school students ($13.7 million).
In a series of public hearings held across the state in May and June, only one person testified in favor of the increase; 53 people testified against the measure.
Besides doubling bus fare, the DOE proposal also would increase the required minimum distance for older students on O'ahu, from a mile to a mile and a half for intermediate school students and to two miles for high school students.
The proposal will return to the student special services committee for reconsideration.
Reach Jennifer Hiller at jhiller@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8084.
