Posted on: Friday, January 18, 2002
EDUCATION
DOE seeks $52 million more as lawmakers look to cut
By Jennifer Hiller
Advertiser Education Writer
Hawai'i's public schools will ask for an additional $52 million this year — a request likely to meet with mixed success at a Legislature bracing for budget cuts.
Hawai'i schools chief Pat Hamamoto said that after years of tight education budgets, school services have been curtailed and innovation stymied.
"We have been forced to delay desperately needed modernization of our operations, and school repair and maintenance has fallen years behind," Hamamoto said. "Doing more with less is the norm."
The governor has recommended a $21 million cut — $7.1 million this year and $14.7 million next year — for the Department of Education.
Hamamoto yesterday told the House Finance and Senate Ways and Means committee members that to meet the demands of union contracts, pay basic bills, provide additional safety on school campuses and comply with the Felix consent decree — which mandates that Hawai'i improve its services in special education — the school system needs more money, not less.
The Felix consent decree will cost the department an additional $15.1 million; improving campus safety with more campus supervision and patrols will cost $6.1 million; programs such as reading improvement, replacing old science equipment and expanding Hawaiian language immersion will cost $9 million, she said.
Sen. Brian Taniguchi, D-11th (Manoa, McCully, Mo'ili'ili), chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, said legislators will try to find more money for education, although the final amount is likely to fall short of the department's request.
"I don't get the sense that people want to go into an election year and say, 'Hey, we just cut $30 million out of the education budget,'" Taniguchi said. "Most of our members are still very inclined to be very supportive of education. I think there are some areas where the governor didn't provide some help that ... some of the members felt that maybe we should step in."
For example, Taniguchi said that legislators will likely increase the amount given to the DOE for fixed costs. Gov. Ben Cayetano recommended $6.8 million, but Hamamoto said the department can't avoid $22.2 million in increases, such as $3 million more for water and electricity or the cost of the pay increases for teachers with advanced degrees called for in the latest contract.
"Generally from a budgeting standpoint we always try to meet the fixed costs," Taniguchi said.
School officials have also asked that the Legislature increase to $90 million the amount spent each year on school facilities. Now, the state budget provides for $45 million each year, while the state has $1.2 billion in needs over the next 10 years.
The school system is short 200 classrooms this year, and expects to see a severe shortage within five years in fast-growing areas such as Maui and Leeward O'ahu.
The general treasury budget for the school system was $1.28 billion this fiscal year, which ends in June, and $1.33 billion next year.
The governor has been scrambling to trim $48 million from the budgets for all departments since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks that caused visitor arrivals to plummet and a sudden slowing in state tax collections. Cayetano has proposed dipping into the Hurricane Relief Fund to prevent further budget trimming.
The latest estimates are that the state will collect $150 million less in taxes than had been expected this year, and $160 million less than expected next year, requiring abrupt spending cuts to balance the budget.
Reach Jennifer Hiller at jhiller@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8084.
