Isle schools tighten travel purse strings
The restrictions come after hundreds of isle educators attend a conference in Florida
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In an effort to cut spending, Schools Superintendent Pat Hamamoto has imposed restrictions on out-of-state travel for public schools days after hundreds of isle educators attended a conference in Florida.
In a June 30 memo, Hamamoto announced school trips outside Hawaii would be limited to those required by the U.S. Department of Education or to comply with federal programs.
The guidelines were issued four days after the end of a conference in Orlando, Fla., that drew 651 Hawaii educators.
The Education Department says the travel rules were triggered by nearly $20 million in cuts to the schools' budget.
ALEXANDRE DA SILVA
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Hawaii public school principals who have broad flexibility to spend funds are now being required to seek approval from Superintendent Pat Hamamoto for out-of-state trips because of the state's weakening economy.
Hamamoto sent a memo outlining the travel guidelines on June 30, four days after 651 Hawaii educators attended a conference on model schools in Orlando, Fla. It also came a week after Gov. Linda Lingle told state departments to lower operating expenses by 4 percent because of slowing revenue growth.
The Board of Education will meet at 6:30 p.m. today at Waipahu Intermediate School to decide from which programs it will cut more than $9 million to comply with Lingle's spending restrictions. The board has given preliminary approval to slash numerous resource teacher positions, eliminate vacant jobs and pull $1 million from coaches' salaries in the 2009-10 academic year.
Education Department spokeswoman Sandy Goya said the new limits on travel resulted from Hawaii's sluggish economy, which prompted lawmakers to shave $7.7 million from the schools' $2.4 billion budget.
It prohibits out-of-state travel except those trips mandated by the U.S. Department of Education, required for compliance with federal programs or part of a school's plan to get out of restructuring under the No Child Left Behind law. The rules, which took effect July 1, will remain in place until Sept. 30, when the Education Department will review whether they can be discontinued or if additional cost-saving measures are necessary.
Meanwhile, Goya said the 177 schools whose staff attended the four-day educational meeting at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort in Florida from June 22-25 likely chose to use their campus money, federal funds or both to pay for the trip well before budget cuts happened.
"Probably when these decisions were made, Hawaii was not in the economic strains it is in now," she said, estimating some schools may have committed to the trip up to six months in advance.
The cost to join the 16th annual Model Schools Conference was about $570 per person, excluding airfare and meals, according to the best registration rate and assuming at least two people shared the cheapest listed room.
"It was up to each school, if they wanted to go, to find the money," said school board member Lei Isa. "But going forward, I don't think we should have out-of-state travel."
Hilo High School Principal Robert Dircks, who sent four staffers to Orlando, said travel costs for professional development are part of running and improving a school. He said Hilo High is already implementing changes in the curriculum shaped by information gathered from conference participants.
"Whether it'd be Honolulu or it's in Orlando, there are opportunities where you can send a team of teachers to be trained on the latest developments in education," he said, "and then they bring that back to the school."
As for the travel restrictions, Dircks said, "I don't have a problem with it."
"I certainly don't welcome it," he continued, "but I'll be mindful as (the school) starts planning for professional development off island or wherever it is."
The Education Department paid to send Assistant Superintendent Daniel Hamada and some complex-area superintendents to the Orlando conference, Goya said. She could not immediately say how much their trips cost. School board members Breene Harimoto and Eileen Clarke also took the trip, officials said.