Schools chief wants
to avoid furloughs

The interim head of the DOE
is looking at other ways to
trim her department's budget

---

By Crystal Kua
ckua@starbulletin.com

MAUNALOA, Molokai >> Interim schools Superintendent Pat Hamamoto said she hopes the state Department of Education does not have to resort to employee furloughs and other extreme measures to offset $21.5 million in budget cuts recommended by the governor for this current fiscal year and next.

"There's a lot of different options and measures the department can pull together," said Hamamoto, who earlier had suggested in a memo that furloughs and other measures may have to be considered to balance the department's budget.

Gov. Ben Cayetano's administration is recommending that the Department of Education cut $7.1 million for the current fiscal year and $14.4 million for next year's fiscal budget, which begins July 1.

The governor is telling all departments to cut spending in light of lower revenue projections -- the result of the economic doldrums caused by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

At the Board of Education meeting yesterday at Maunaloa School, Hamamoto presented the board with a list of where the department is proposing to make the cuts.

Hamamoto said a more detailed account will likely be presented to the board for approval in January. For the current fiscal year, the department is looking at possibly not carrying out or only partially funding nine new initiatives passed last session by the state Legislature, for an estimated savings of $3.2 million.

The measures included funding for business fiscal officers, the school-to-work program, coaches' salaries, fine-arts resource teachers, professional development schools, parent- community networking centers and the Hawaii Teacher Standards Board.

The department plans to make up the difference with restrictions to funds per pupil given to schools, unspecified programs, and district- and state-level funding.

On top of the restrictions for the current year, the department is faced with an $8 million shortfall as a result of responding to the Felix consent decree.

For next fiscal year, the department is proposing percentage cuts across the board, except for special-education funding, to shave $14 million.

Hamamoto had written to the board previously, saying the restrictions and reductions would thrust the department into considering options that would be "detrimental" to the education of students and affect health and safety.

Hamamoto said she has heard concerns about the suggestion of furloughing employees.

"We don't want to go there. I don't want to go there," Hamamoto said.

Hamamoto said furloughs will not be considered until every possible option has been exhausted.

Hamamoto said the biggest concern right now for the department is the recommendation by the state Budget & Finance Department to reduce the department's operating budget for next fiscal year by $3.4 million that included eliminating hundreds of teacher and educational assistant positions.

The board authorized the department last night to get those items restored.

At the same time, the board also gave the department the green light to lobby for $52 million in additional funding for next year's budget. That amount is $3 million less than what the board originally wanted.