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KEALAKEKUA -- The Board of Education approved a request for a $166 million increase to the public school system's current $1 billion operating budget over the next two fiscal years. $166 million increase
asked in schools budgetProposed library budget swells by $13 million
By Crystal Kua
Star-BulletinState schools Superintendent Paul LeMahieu said that the Department of Education could use every cent in the proposed biennium budget -- and then some.
"We need more than that," LeMahieu said after last night's board meeting at Konawaena High School.
The proposed budget seeks a $77 million increase for the 2001-2002 fiscal year beginning next July, and $89 million the following year.
The increases are in categories of health and safety, legal mandates, standards implementation and school instruction.
Gov. Ben Cayetano's administration, which has instructed departments to formulate no-growth budgets, will now decide how much of the request will make it into the executive budget submitted to the Legislature.
Board Chairman Mitsugi Nakashima said he voted for the request despite his earlier concern that it was too big, but he apparently was the only one who felt that way. "We can believe it's all going to be included in the governor's budget, but I'm not that optimistic."
LeMahieu said that schools' original wish list at the start of the budget process amounted to $260 million.
After making "hard decisions" on what budget items should stay or go, the amount went down to what was approved last night, he said.
"Everything that's there is needed. It doesn't represent a complete enumeration ultimately of what's needed," LeMahieu said. "We have an obligation to document and to speak to the needs of the schools and the needs of the system."
LeMahieu said he believes the public school system has demonstrated fiscal prudence and the ability to improve student achievement, and pushed for more freedom to make budgetary decisions especially if cuts have to be made.
"What we want to do is to call on the governor and the Legislature to honor the existing system of lump sum budgeting and allow the board and the department to determine how to reallocate the resources," LeMahieu said.
"Now it's time also to express that trust by allowing the department to manage its own resources."
Board members were told the budget may need to grow even more, as the department estimates that future union contract settlements could increase spending by another $33.9 million.
KEALAKEKUA -- An additional $13 million, mostly for library materials and costs for opening the Kapolei Library, was approved by the Board of Education last night. Proposed library budget
swells by $13 million
for materials, KapoleiThe request is on top of the Hawaii State Library System's current operating budget of $21 million.
The construction budget request includes $4.5 million in the first year and $14.5 million in the second year to finish the first two phases of the Kapolei Library and to deal with a backlog of repairs and alterations, some of which are needed to comply with federal disabilities mandates.
The budgets will now be scrutinized by state budget officials who will decide how much of the request will be included in the state executive budget submitted to the Legislature.
Crystal Kua, Star-Bulletin