School help remains
state’s top priorityThe issue: Gov. Cayetano asks legislators
to improve public education and
expand the University of Hawaii.LITTLE more than four months after terrorists launched their attack on America, Gov. Cayetano shows unexpected optimism about the state's economic recovery. In his State of the State address to the Legislature, Cayetano did not waver from his commitment to improve education in Hawaii. Legislators who disagree with his way of achieving that worthy goal will be hard pressed to find alternatives within a balanced budget.
Cayetano's message was simple: Use money from the state's Hurricane Relief Fund and an increase in the liquor sales tax. Although legislators should take Cayetano up on his invitation to suggest other ways to balance the budget, they should not tamper with the goal of building a first-rate education system.
"We should not settle for mediocrity," he said in perhaps his most forceful public statement on this issue. "After all, a public education system that teaches its students how to read, but not how to distinguish what is worth reading, is not a very good school system at all."
CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Ben Cayetano: "We should not settle for mediocrity" in the public educational system.
That is not to say that education, which accounts for more than half of the state's budget, should be immune from budgetary considerations. Cayetano said the Department of Education should carry its "fair share" of the burden, while programs aimed at helping the sick, poor and disadvantaged, which were reduced in past years, "cannot be cut any more."
Among the education costs that Cayetano proposed are at least $255 million for school repair and maintenance. Although 13 new schools built in recent years are the envy of mainland education officials, he said, older schools are run down and need help.
More ambitious was the governor's endorsement of plans by Evan Dobelle, the University of Hawaii's new president, to turn the Manoa institution into a top university. To do that, Cayetano said, the university should "stop requiring UH-Manoa to be all things to all people," first by raising admission standards and reviewing the curriculum.
Cayetano urged the Legislature to authorize an expenditure of $142 million for construction of a UH campus at Kapolei. While the governor spoke of his hopes for UH-Manoa to become a "Berkeley of the Pacific," he talked of turning Kapolei into "a college town," similar to Eugene, Ore., home of the University of Oregon. The Kapolei campus could be built in 18 months, he said.
"The University of Hawaii is the intellectual heart of our community, but it is also an important driver of our economy," Cayetano said.
While some lawmakers may oppose dipping into the hurricane fund or raising taxes to launch projects as large as these, Cayetano said the timing is right. Interest rates are at an all-time low and are not likely to get any lower, he said, and construction spending also could give a boost to the state's economy.
Cayetano, contentious and blunt through much of his political career, was reflective and at times on the verge of tears as he ended his final opening-session address to legislators. He told of being moved by House GOP Leader Galen Fox's suggestion to "set politics aside" after the Sept. 11 attacks and spoke in glowing terms of other Republicans, from President Bush to former Sen. Warren Rudman.
In his bipartisan reach, he urged the Democratic-controlled Legislature to "put politics aside" and "do your job to make Hawaii better, even if it means you may lose your job."
That is the most daunting challenge the governor ever set before the Legislature.
More review needed
before moving zooThe issue: Relocating the
Honolulu Zoo from Waikiki
to Kalaeloa would be expensive.There may come a time when moving the Honolulu Zoo to another site on Oahu will be the right thing to do, but at present there appears to be no pressing need. Moreover, if the facility is to be relocated from Waikiki, a study more in depth than the one commissioned by the City Council would be necessary.
The zoo does more than exhibit animals. It is involved in breeding endangered birds, mammals and reptiles. It is an educational and recreational facility easily accessible to tourists and urban residents, with annual visitors numbering 650,000. Because of its location at the edge of Kapiolani Park and the effect its move would have on Waikiki, city officials should examine the issue more closely before making a decision and review all possible sites, not just Kalaeloa, as targeted in the study.
The study was done at the urging of Councilman John DeSoto, a candidate for lieutenant governor whose district encompasses Kalaeloa, the former site of Barbers Point Naval Air Station. It showed that moving the zoo to Kalaeloa would cost the city at least $480 million and raise annual operating costs to $15 million from the present $2.8 million. In the current economic crisis, increasing expenditures would make zoo relocation unsuitable, especially without due consideration of all aspects of its functions.
When seeking the study last year, DeSoto reasoned that the 42-acre zoo had reached its capacity in Waikiki and that without more space, it would never become a world-class facility with more of the natural-looking habitats zoos have adopted. Kalaeloa may have the expanse to house a 200-acre operation, but it has little else to draw people to the area and virtually no other attractions for tourists, who make up 30 percent of the zoo's annual attendance.
DeSoto complained that the study was shortsighted and predictable, hinting it was skewed to maintain the zoo's present location. Be that as it may, neither the Council nor city officials can responsibly decide on the matter without a comprehensive ordering of the zoo's purposes and development and a financial plan to support it.
Published by Oahu Publications Inc., a subsidiary of Black Press.Don Kendall, Publisher
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