Tam says BOE
should fire Kane

Kane is causing the board
'a bad repercussion,' Tam says

By Mary Adamski
Star-Bulletin

Ditch the private book-buying contract for state libraries and the state librarian who signed it, state Sen. Rod Tam told the state Board of Education last night.

"If I were in position ... I would fire the state librarian," said Tam, co-chairman of the Senate Education Committee. "In the private sector, if the CEO makes a decision that costs the board of directors, you fire that guy."

The five-year contract with Baker & Taylor Inc. "is having a bad repercussion on the board," he said.

Librarians have criticized the North Carolina firm, hired last spring, charging that the books it supplies do not meet readers' demands for best-sellers and topical material. The firm is also criticized for supplying a high proportion of cheap paperbacks rather than reference volumes under the contract that pays $20.94 per book.

Tam was the author of a bill that would have withheld funding of the contract, but House-Senate conferees whittled it down to language that requires the board to ensure that public librarians are involved in selection of books.

Board member Francis McMillen told Tam: "The board made the decision. The contract wasn't dreamed up here, it went through the attorney general. The 1995 Legislature thought it was a good idea."

At the afternoon session, state Librarian Bart Kane said: "In comparison to other departments, I believe we came out pretty good. Depending on the governor's restrictions, we should be able to start filling vacancies, adequately provide supplies and support to the public libraries, and have about $1 million of general funds for book purchases."

Legislators trimmed about $500,000 from the library operating budget in each year of the biennium, leaving $18.4 million in each year.

The governor's capital improvement budget provided $27 million for four new libraries—Kapolei, Kohala, Nanakuli and Kauai's north shore. Legislators deleted funds for a Nanakuli library and added money for a new library at Manoa, as well as funding a feasibility study to convert the old Aiea Sugar Mill into a library.

School Superintendent Herman Aizawa told the board that the Department of Education budget, which was cut by only 1.34 percent in the first year and 2.64 percent in the second, is "a much kinder figure" than earlier proposals.

The Legislature reduced funding for the after-school A+ program by 42 percent, but Aizawa said he is optimistic that the department will not have to raise the fee paid by parents.

Lawmakers gave the governor discretion to use other funds to fill the gap in the school budget.

Other budget cuts affecting the Department of Education:

Increased the student-teacher ratio in kindergarten through second grade from 20 to 21 students in a class, saving $3 million a year.

Eliminated $2.3 million per year paid to nonunion classroom cleaners.

Eliminated vacant positions for three district deputy superintendents and one administrative assistant.

Eliminated $1.9 million per year for the After School Instruction Program.