[ OUR OPINION ]
Political power plays
shortchange public
school repairs
THE ISSUEGovernor Lingle has released $100 million for fixing facilities and directed the Department of Education to carry out its new responsibilities.
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Governor Lingle's surprise move to release $100 million for the work amid complicated transfers of authority and functions among state agencies heightens the difficulty.
Nonetheless, the education reform law passed by the Legislature this year mandates that the department take on the responsibility and the DOE should meet the challenge, even though it must do so sooner than anticipated.
The new law transfers repair and maintenance oversight from the Department of Accounting and General Services to the DOE, but an agreement between the agencies had DAGS continuing to handle the $100 million in projects until July 2005, when the DOE was scheduled to assume full authority. However, upon releasing the funds this week, the Lingle administration decided only half of them could be directed by DAGS; the DOE would have to pick up the other $50 million immediately.
That leaves the DOE without the personnel, accounting systems and expertise it will need to manage contracts and track projects and money -- work that previously took up about half of DAGS employees' time.
The governor's release of the money is ostensibly to comply with the law, but her actions reflect the disputes Lingle has had with Democratic lawmakers and schools Superintendent Pat Hamamoto on education reform.
Lingle had lobbied hard for her plan to break up the department and to replace the current Board of Education with smaller panels. But legislators passed their own blueprint aligned with some of the ideas Hamamoto had proposed and overrode Lingle's veto of the measure.
On her radio show Wednesday, the governor seemed to lay down a challenge, saying, "They have to take responsibility now and they have to stop the finger-pointing. The public needs to know ... who to hold accountable when projects aren't done." She had also sent letters to all school principals, prodding them to contact Hamamoto about their repair priorities.
Education officials had been preparing an orderly transition for their new duties -- not an easy task. The change involves as many as 300 public employees, their unions, community groups and other state departments as well as portioning computers, supplies, desks and work space from one agency to another.
The DOE has only its current staff to deal with repair projects. Regardless, education officials must not allow political power plays to divert their attention. Leaking roofs and poor electrical wiring are not good conditions for teachers to teach and children to learn.
