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State legislators have proposed a 15 percent increase in class size as a way to save more than $9 million, and schools officials are worried that teacher positions would have to be cut. School board urged
to fight budget cutsLegislators consider increasing
class size to save $9 millionBy Lisa Asato
lasato@starbulletin.comSchools Superintendent Pat Hamamoto told the state school board yesterday that more than 300 teacher positions would have to be cut if class size were increased to 23 students per teacher from 20-to-1.
The positions that would be cut are 65 each in the Honolulu and Leeward districts, 64 in the Central district, 31 in the Windward district, 48 in the Hawaii district, 31 in the Maui district and 13 in the Kauai district, Hamamoto said.
The affected teachers with seniority and tenure would either be transferred to other positions or may face furlough, she said, and contracts for probationary teachers probably would not be renewed.
Hamamoto was among dozens of people that included vocational education students, principals and athletic directors who told the Board of Education about the impact budget cuts would have on them.
The House removed the $9 million -- which could result in increased class size -- from the department's budget and then funded it with money from the Hawaii Hurricane Relief Fund. Hamamoto said it is unknown what the Senate has done with the proposal, but the Ways and Means Committee has approved use of hurricane relief funds for education.
The Legislature is wrestling with how to balance the budget with a $300 million shortfall in revenues.
Hamamoto's executive assistant, Stafford Nagatani, said the money bills are still in discussion at the Legislature, and told testifiers, "This is the absolute perfect time to tell (lawmakers) your story."
Hawaii State Teachers Association President Karen Ginoza urged board members to take a public stance on public education issues at the Legislature.
"We can be stronger if we had your voice," she said, inviting members to the union's Thursday rally at the state Capitol. "It is your duty to fight for public education."
The public told the board about the human toll of budget cuts of up to 5 percent on state departments.
Senior R-nel Valdez of McKinley High School got emotional as he described how a parenting program for teens helped turn him around from poor grades to getting a 3.5 grade-point average.
"It helped set my priorities straight," Valdez said.
Things were not much better for Jennifer Dalmacio, mother to their 5-month-old son, Skyler, but now both have plans to study nursing and have interviews this weekend for college scholarships, Valdez said.
If the state Department of Education's budget is cut by 5 percent, it would eliminate more than one-third of the program's $955,000 budget, meaning a loss of full- and part-time teachers.
Ken Yamase flew from the Big Island to talk about athletic programs facing cuts in transportation, equipment and coaches' salaries.
Yamase, who is the athletic director at Waiakea High School, defended athletic programs as "the largest gifted and talented program" schools have.
"Talking about gifted and talented," he said, "a child being able to run 100 meters in 10 seconds, a child able to throw a baseball at 90 mph or to slam-dunk a basketball" are innate gifts that deserve nurturing, he said. "Please do not take away that child's opportunity to (maintain) that talent and become the best they can be."
State Board of Education