DOE, UH shave cutbacks in budget
By Gordon Y.K. Pang and Jennifer Hiller
Advertiser Staff Writers
Department of Education and University of Hawai'i officials were able to stave off some of the planned budget restrictions imposed by Gov. Linda Lingle's administration at the end of last month, but likely not enough to avoid reductions in services.
Just before the current fiscal year began on July 1, Lingle announced that all state agencies would be receiving only 80 percent of their first-quarter allocations for the year because of tough economic times.
For DOE officials, that translated to a request to reduce their first-quarter allocation by $55 million.
But after a meeting between DOE Superintendent Pat Hamamoto and the staff of budget director Georgina Kawamura, the public school system instead is being asked to reduce its budget by $12 million to $20 million.
DOE's overall budget for the year is about $1.4 billion.
Meanwhile, the UH system initially was asked to shoulder a $22 million reduction in the first quarter, but that amount was reduced to $10 million to be spread out over the year, according to Sam Callejo, chief of staff to UH President Evan Dobelle.
The governor stressed that the reduction of allocations was temporary while awaiting the Council on Revenues' revised cash forecasts in September.
But Democratic leaders in the House and Senate have called on Lingle to ease the restrictions in the wake of news last week from the Tax Department that revenues in June had surged to the point that overall growth for fiscal 2003 was up 4.3 percent from the previous year.
Yesterday, Democratic lawmakers said that education should be among the first agencies to have money restored.
Board of Education members last night discussed the first $12 million in cuts for public schools, although they complained vehemently about the reduction. They also have been asked to give the governor's office scenarios for the results of $15 million, $18 million and $20 million in cuts for the year.
But confusion over the department's budget situation has left employees guessing — more than two weeks into the new fiscal year — as to what their department can actually afford for the year.
Rodney Goo, school safety management program coordinator, several weeks ago stopped giving contracts to new school safety and security managers.
The Legislature had approved $2 million to expand the program, which would have added the managers who oversee and train security guards, conduct fire inspections and help with major campus incidents, to dozens of campuses.
But Goo grew concerned that internal DOE cuts might threaten the program's expansion.
"We're just going to wait and see what happens with our funding," Goo said earlier this week.
As it turned out, he was right. Under the department's plan, the entire $2 million for the expansion of the school safety and security manager program would be withheld.
The budget reduction would hit the department hardest in areas that do not directly affect regular or special education classroom learning. Targets appear to be alternative learning programs, the popular after-school program called A+, extracurricular activities and school administration.
Other areas where restrictions would be considered: athletic programs, affecting supplies, equipment, trainers, medics, girls' junior varsity sports and transportation; standardized testing; state and district-level administration; English as a Second Language programs; transportation costs for band members; Hawaiian immersion; Olomana School; the annual science and engineering fair; and school libraries.
At UH, Callejo said he has asked each of the campuses to look at what cuts can be made.
Chancellors were expected to submit their recommendations by today. The only criteria given to the chancellors was to "try not to go to instructional areas," he said.
Callejo said budget officials assured him that the money would be restored if the Council on Revenues forecasts a rosier economic outlook for the state in September.
"We could end up with nothing (reduced)," he said.
The university was appropriated $729 million for fiscal year 2004, about $458 million of it from general funds.
Rodney Sakaguchi, vice chancellor for administration and finance at the UH-Manoa campus, said officials at the largest campus in the UH system have been told that they could see a hit of more than $6 million.
As for whether such a restriction would have an impact on instructional areas, Sakaguchi said: "These are the kinds of things we are discussing."
Yesterday, both Senate President Robert Bunda and House Speaker Calvin Say called the cuts to education troubling, particularly because Lingle promised not to reduce educational programs.
"It was our understanding that the governor's priority was health and education," Bunda said.
Deputy budget director Stanley Shiraki stressed that state agencies received "tentative first-quarter allocations," which should not be considered restrictions because they could be restored during the year.
Other agencies, such as the Department of Accounting and General Services, also were allowed to to get more than 80 percent of their money for the first three months of the fiscal year.
In the case of DAGS, Shiraki said, the agency needed the money to secure some major contracts that were expected to be encumbered during the first quarter.
Reach Gordon Y.K. Pang at gpang@honoluluadvertiser.com or at 525-8070. Reach Jennifer Hiller at jhiller@honoluluadvertiser.com or at 525-8084.
