Public school capital improvement projects could get a $90 million annual boost if a State Educational Facilities Special Fund is approved by the Legislature.

A bill creating the fund cleared the House on Tuesday and now heads to the Senate.

House minority members who opposed the bill argued that the money would be funneled into a special fund that didn't have enough transparency.

However, according to Rep. Sharon Har, D-49th (Royal Kunia, Makakilo, Kapolei), the bill is needed in areas that have problems getting schools built.

"It's not about earmarking funds. It's about giving private developers the ability to build schools in partnership with the state," she said.

SERVICE LEARNING CONFERENCE SET

Students and teachers will gather at the Kamehameha Schools Kapalama campus Saturday for the sixth annual Service Learning Conference.

The event is meant to feature some of the best examples of student service-learning activities. Participants will learn how students have made a positive impact in communities on a wide range of issues, including sustainability, literacy and civic engagement.

The conference fee for adults is $50, or $20 for students. Registration forms are available at www.youthservicehawaii.org. Scholarship inquiries and requests for more information should be sent to admin@youthservicehawaii.org.

WORLD EDUCATION FEST MARCH 12-15

Leeward Community College is holding the 15th Annual International Education Festival on March 12 to 15.

The first three days include lectures and presentations on globalization. Walden Bello, executive director of Bangkok, Thailand-based group Focus on the Global South will speak Wednesday at 10 a.m. University of Hawai'i law professor Jon Van Dyke speaks on "Globalization and Human Rights" at 11 a.m. and Howard Dicus of KGMB TV discusses at noon globalization and the Hawai'i economy.

The effects of globalization on the environment, traditional culture and art, and international relations are presented next Thursday and Friday.

The week's activities culminate with the "One World" Festival on March 15, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The day features international foods, music and dance, along with cultural demonstrations, displays and children's games

A variety of international foods such as Lebanese, Thai, Peruvian, Russian and Armenian will be available.

The International Educational Festival is free and open to the public. For more information, call Raymund Liongson at 455-0614 or Judy Kappenberg at 455-0284.

NOBEL LAUREATE TO GIVE LECTURE

Dr. Stephen Schneider, a Stanford University professor and Nobel laureate on climate change, will be taking part in Hawai'i Pacific University's "A Global Citizenship Lecture Series" on April 1 and 2.

The April 1 lecture at 2 p.m. is open to the HPU community and media only. The lecture, "Global Warming: Is the Science Settled Enough for Policy?" will be at the Paul and Vi Loo Theatre, Hawai'i Loa Campus. A lecture open to the public on the same subject is at 7 p.m. on April 1 at the Tenney Theatre, Cathedral Church of Saint Andrew.

Another lecture for HPU students and faculty, "Global Warming: Teaching and Learning Complex Science Without Oversimplifying," is April 2 from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. That's at the Red Elephant, 1144 Bethel St.