$136 million
more asked
for schools

Much of the request for
two years would be used
for special needs students

By Crystal Kua
Star-Bulletin

With the change in public schools leadership, the state should look at education funding in a different way and recenter the system on the primary purpose of schools -- student learning, state Superintendent Paul LeMahieu said in his first budget address to state lawmakers.

"This is a period of new beginnings," LeMahieu told members of the House Finance Committee this morning in his written budget message.

The Department of Education is seeking an estimated $68 million more for each of the next two fiscal years.

The executive budget, or the amount that the governor intends to request from the Legislature, comes to about 68 percent of the department's requested amount.

A major funding request from the department will include $23 million dollars for the first fiscal year and $33.7 for the second fiscal year to fund the so-called Felix consent decree for special needs students.

The governor wants to shave those amounts to $16.4 million in the first year and $23.7 in the second year. The amounts will mainly pay for meeting a federal mandate as a result of lawsuit filed against the state.

"Regardless of the legal mandate and threat of financial penalties, full compliance is the right thing to do," LeMahieu said. "The children who need these special services are OUR children."

The Hawaii Content and Performance Standards, which are standards that define what each student should know, be able to do and care about as he or she progresses through schools is also a priority.

The executive budget does not include any of the requested $3.4 million in the first year and $3.1 million in the second year to implement the standards and develop a comprehensive assessment and accountability system.

LeMahieu told the House Finance Committee that 75 cents of every education dollar goes toward paying school level salaries.

While increases for teacher salaries and more learning time are contributions to learning, the Department of Education has deferred tens of millions of dollars for other needed funding.

As a result, budget shortfalls have resulted in fewer classroom computers, slower adoption of standards, higher student-teacher ratios, reduced equipment for new schools, deferred maintenance, the jeopardized continuation of the A+ after-school care program and reduced capacity to meet special education and mental health requirements.

LeMahieu said the department looked at where it was going and what it needed to do to get there.