Posted on: Friday, May 20, 2005
Schools' food, repairs underfunded, staff says
By Jan TenBruggencate
Advertiser Kaua'i Bureau
LIHU'E, Kaua'i — The state Department of Education is scrambling to cover several crucial programs left inadequately funded by this year's Legislature, staffers told the Board of Education yesterday.
"Our budget was strained to begin with. We're very concerned about these shortfalls," said board Chairman Breene Harimoto.
Schools Superintendent Pat Hamamoto said her administration will absorb the hit and make needed adjustments.
"We have shortfalls, and that will be our first priority — to ensure that there are sufficient funds to pay for critical items. We'll see what we have to do to provide the services," she said.
The budget gave the statewide education program operating funds of $2.0345 billion for the 2006 fiscal year and $2.094 billion for fiscal 2007. Department Budget Director Ed Koyama said that was $27 million short of the department's budget request for 2006 and $40 million short for 2007.
Major underfunded items included $4 million for food service and $5.5 million for student transportation.
"We'll have to find a way to do it. We have to provide lunches. We have to provide transportation," Hamamoto said.
The shortfalls could have been much worse, she said.
More critical is the continuing backlog in building and maintaining schools. For the coming year, the department had asked for $427 million, and the Legislature provided $216 million.
"We have been operating in a substandard condition for a long time," said Rae Loui, assistant superintendent for business services. The appropriations this year don't manage to keep the department even.
"We're falling further and further behind," she said.
Much of the money is going to projects required by law, such as $11 million to replace cesspools with septic systems. Health and safety projects often must take priority over things such as air-conditioning classrooms and relieving overcrowding.
Board members expressed frustration that legislators sometimes tossed out the Department of Education's construction priorities and stuck in money for projects in their own districts.
"What we refer to very kindly as legislative initiatives is simply pork barrel," said Big Island board member Herbert Watanabe.
Among the department's priorities were a $9 million appropriation for a six-classroom addition on Lana'i, $10.6 million to renovate the administration and library building at Holualoa Elementary on the Big Island, and $68 million for a new 'Ewa Makai Middle School on O'ahu. None was funded at all.
However, a number of projects that were low on the department's priority list or not on the department's list at all did get money. Farrington and Castle high schools got money for all-weather tracks at a total cost of $1.4 million, King Intermediate got $1 million for parking and bus-stop improvements, and McKinley High got $2 million for a new girls' locker room. None of these was on the department's priority list.
Loui said there are critical needs for new schools and classrooms in the state's growth areas. In many cases, some schools have excess classroom space because of declining enrollment, such as those in Honolulu, while there is severe crowding in areas with new development, such as 'Ewa, she said.
Reach Jan TenBruggencate at jant@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 245-3074.
