Schools set for repairs but not spared the ax

By Jennifer Hiller
Advertiser Education Writer

Public education got its formal warning call during the governor's State of the State address: Get ready for budget cuts.

UH President Evan Dobelle was on hand yesterday to hear the governor's request for $142 million for a West O'ahu campus. Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser

"Keep in mind that education makes up 52 percent of our state general fund budget, and this time I cannot spare the Department of Education from carrying its fair share of budget cuts," Cayetano said.

He has asked all departments to slice 1 percent from their budgets in 2002 and another 2 percent next year.

Those cuts will be greater if the Legislature does not go along with Cayetano's plan to raid the Hurricane Relief Fund.

"What we are very sad about is that the governor said there will be cuts to education this time," said Karen Ginoza, president of the Hawai'i State Teachers Association, who has lobbied against the cuts. "It's really a worry — the impact on the teachers and the students. What we're looking at now is how to deal with the shortfall."

Cayetano has recommended a $21 million cut in public education spending — $7.1 million this year and $14.7 million next year. 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.

Hawai'i schools chief Pat Hamamoto said she and the Board of Education are taking an inventory of school programs — including health, safety and the Felix consent decree — that are required by federal law, and at the same time trying to determine which programs have the highest impact on student performance.

"We all know there are certain programs that we cannot do without," she said.

While the governor has proposed paying for long-overdue repair and maintenance work, Hamamoto said she will not try to draw a distinction between the importance of having good school facilities and the importance of strong school programs. In the past, repairs and maintenance took a back seat during difficult times.

"We realize that it's not one over the other, but both," Hamamoto said. "We are going to try to not detract from programs that are in the classroom."

During a sometimes nostalgic speech, Cayetano stopped short of labeling himself an "education governor" and acknowledged the difficult relationship he developed with the public school teachers, particularly in last year's strike.

But he also said many of his accomplishments happened in the classroom: building more schools than any other administration, increasing teachers' starting pay to $34,300 and providing a $5,000 bonus to teachers who receive national certification.

Cayetano has also lobbied for the construction of the UH-West O'ahu campus, as well as the construction of a new medical school and biotechnology center in Kaka'ako.

University of Hawai'i President Evan Dobelle has asked for no additional money to operate the UH system for the coming year, but wants $357.48 million in construction money to build the West O'ahu campus and address a huge backlog of repair and maintenance.

"The DOE was held harmless, and for good reason. We took terrible, terrible retrenchment hits over the last five, six, seven years," Dobelle said. "All I'm asking for is to not take another one. There simply comes a time when the major driver economic driver of Hawai'i, which is the University of Hawai'i, simply cannot take any more."

Reach Jennifer Hiller at jhiller@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8084.