DOE officials told a Board of Education committee yesterday that the department has a shortfall of $40.9 million in the $2 billion annual budget, but is able to make up all but $3.46 million of that by using $22 million in federal impact aid given to states with high military populations, Department of Defense money and some internal savings.

Now that A-Plus fees paid by parents go to the DOE instead of into the state general fund, department officials also said, there will be no increase in fees and no loss of services. The department had scheduled a cut in the afterschool care budget as one way to absorb a small $1.27 million budget reduction handed down by the governor and approved by the Legislature.

Schools superintendent Pat Hamamoto said that the department will hold off for another year before making any changes to the cost of A-Plus. "Whenever we raise it, there's a drop in participation — so we'd like to wait," said Hamamoto.

Among the reasons for the overall $40.9 million shortfall in the DOE budget are $11.7 million in food service costs, $11 million in Felix decree services to special-needs students, $12.3 million to accommodate about 1,200 additional students coming with the Army's new Stryker Brigade and $2.8 million in student transportation costs.

Although the DOE is not directly reimbursed for the costs of the Stryker Brigade, the department receives federal impact aid amounting to about $22.4 million, which is tied to the additional costs of educating children whose parents are sent here by the federal government. The aid can be used as the department sees fit. However, the aid is only about 20 percent of the cost of educating those students.

Clayton Fujie, DOE deputy superintendent, said the department is appealing to Hawai'i's congressional representatives as well as the military for increased help in meeting those costs.

The school board's members also heard the latest good news as the department moves toward basing its budgeting on measurable Key Performance Indicators.

But Hamamoto also told board members that more money is needed to upgrade the department's information technology system to produce the data needed to continue to evaluate programs as the department moves closer to performance-based budgeting.

"It means lobbying to get more IT money," said board member Lei Ahu Isa.

Correction: The Department of Education is not directly reimbursed for the costs of the Stryker Brigade, as a previous version of this story implied.