DOE seeks $47.5M more for schools
By Derrick DePledge
Advertiser Education Writer
State schools superintendent Pat Hamamoto asked legislators yesterday for $47.5 million more for public schools next year, contending that Gov. Linda Lingle's proposed budget is not enough to do the job.
Lingle has recommended a $24.3 million increase in education spending next fiscal year, with $3.7 million coming from the state's general fund and the rest from federal money and transfers from other state departments.
The governor has said that reform, not money, is the answer for public education, and lawmakers will have to settle the dispute over the supplemental budget during the upcoming session.
At a joint briefing yesterday before the state Senate Ways and Means Committee and the state House Finance Committee, Hamamoto acknowledged the state's tight budget but said lawmakers have to have the courage to invest in education.
"Quality is not cheap," the superintendent said. "It takes time. It takes money."
The biggest difference between Lingle and the Department of Education involves spending to comply with the federal No Child Left Behind Act, which requires that all students be proficient in core subjects by 2014.
The DOE wants $23.8 million next year to improve teacher quality, student testing and the technology to track student performance. The Lingle administration rejected those specific requests and instead wants the DOE to use $8.7 million in new federal money available under the law.
Hamamoto said federal money alone does not cover all the costs of meeting the law's goals, particularly at schools that do not receive federal poverty aid. She told the lawmakers that the state would risk ultimately losing federal money if it doesn't comply with the law.
State officials across the country have complained that the Bush administration has not adequately financed No Child Left Behind, and a small number of school districts have even chosen to give up federal education money rather than follow the law's requirements. President Bush has said that states have not taken advantage of all the money available for schools.
Hamamoto also asked lawmakers yesterday for $67.1 million more in capital improvement money to finance 12 school projects not included in Lingle's separate construction budget, which called for $20 million for three school projects.
Lingle also has recommended spending an extra $90 million next year — up from the $7 million already approved by the Legislature — on school repair and maintenance. But DOE officials said yesterday that they need $130 million to help knock down a backlog of repairs.
State Rep. Dwight Takamine, D-1st (N. Hilo, Hamakua, N. Kohala), chairman of the Finance Committee, urged lawmakers to focus on next year's budget request at the hearing, but lawmakers couldn't help but step into larger political questions about reform and whether public schools get enough money.
State Sen. Fred Hemmings, R-25th (Kailua, Waimanalo, Portlock), said the public is confused by the various numbers on school spending coming from the DOE, the Lingle administration, consultants and outside groups and asked Hamamoto for the truth.
"Are you implying that we don't provide the truth to you?" Hamamoto replied coolly.
Hemmings accused "spin doctors" of claiming that DOE money is being cut when Lingle is actually proposing an increase to the department's $1.7 billion overall budget. "I think the taxpayers have been misled," the senator said.
Later, Takamine asked Hamamoto what would happen if the DOE did not get the money she was requesting. Hamamoto said schools would likely have to cut back on spending for textbooks, laboratory and workshop materials and other equipment, which could compromise the quality of education and prompt more teachers to pay for supplies out of their own pockets.
Reach Derrick DePledge at ddepledge@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8084.
