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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Tuesday, February 11, 2003

Raising taxes to improve schools said to be unlikely

Previous stories
 •  Lingle's approval rating strong, poll shows
 •  Poll shows 77% would pay to improve schools
 •  Review all the Hawai'i Poll data

By Lynda Arakawa
Advertiser Capitol Bureau

State lawmakers and education experts said yesterday that raising taxes to improve public education may be palatable to the public, but may not fly in the current political environment.

The Advertiser's Hawai'i Poll on Sunday found that 77 percent of respondents are willing to pay additional taxes if government had sensible solutions to improving the quality of public education. Though officials said the poll confirms what other surveys have found, the issue is complicated by how much money can be raised and exactly where it would go.

"It's not in the cards this year," said House Education Committee Chairman Roy Takumi, D-36th (Pearl City, Pacific Palisades). "Something like that, you'd really need the strong support of the administration. ... I don't think they're open to it. Why go through that exercise, and then base our budget with that in mind and then it gets vetoed and then we have created more problems than we wanted?"

Gov. Linda Lingle yesterday said through her spokesman, Russell Pang, that she is opposed to raising any taxes. But increasing taxes for education is difficult for many other reasons.

Many lawmakers have prided themselves with cutting income taxes in 1998 and are generally leery of the political fallout that might emerge from raising taxes. Such an issue is also filled with complicated questions, ranging from deciding how much of which tax should be increased to figuring where extra revenue would be funneled.

Takumi and Senate Education Committee Chairman Norman Sakamoto, D-15th (Waimalu, Airport, Salt Lake), both said they are interested in taking a serious look at the idea. But they said part of the challenge is crafting a proposal ensuring additional tax revenue would be supplementing, rather than replacing, school dollars.

"If we decide we want to raise, what are we talking about, what kind of infusion do we want into the system?" Takumi said, noting that some people may want the money to repair school facilities while others would want it to go toward textbooks and computers. "It could go in many directions."

And there are other questions about whether the money will be spent efficiently.

"Also, people want to know — even if they're in favor of increasing taxes — they want to know that their taxes are used in an effective, efficient manner, so we have to build that trust that we are going to use it in a way that really improves our schools. It's not just simply throwing money at schools, it's spending the money wisely, too."

Sakamoto said he wants to perhaps create a resolution to discuss the issue further.

"Based on what the poll is saying, I think the dialogue needs to start," he said.

Hawaii State Teachers Association president Karen Ginoza said she's pleased but not surprised by the Hawai'i Poll results. She said HSTA officials have brought up the issue before and that more money needs to be raised for education, but "we're not at this point putting it out there as a real high priority."

That's not to say that the idea won't be worth pursuing at some point, she said.

"We're looking for the opportunity to really move forward on that," Ginoza said. "But again, it requires the public dialogue. ... You want to be able to move together."

For now, Ginoza said, the focus should be on figuring out how to spend the money the state already has.

"We've always had that as an option when we talk to legislators," she said. "But knowing how the trends are, with how people feel, and the reluctance to raise taxes, we've come to the point where we're actually doing more discussion with the department in terms of we need a good accounting of how the funds are being spent."

Reach Lynda Arakawa at larakawa@honoluluadvertiser.com or at 525-8070.