Overhaul in school spending
is met by debate

The budget proposal does not
accomplish its goals, say some

A proposed new budget formula unveiled yesterday would give public schools more flexibility over their spending and channel more money to needy students, but it proved to be controversial from day one.

New formula redivides funds Here is how the Department of Education's operating budget would be divided, starting in 2006. Through the weighted student formula, principals would control 48 percent, or $770 million, to pay for: » Most staff salaries and fringe benefits. » Custodial costs, minor repairs and maintenance. » Student support services. » English as a Second Language, Gifted and Talented programs. » A+ program, parent-community coordinators. Principals would have discretion to spend 24 percent, or $410 million, within specific programs, including: » Dozens of categorical funds, such as Hawaiian studies and athletics. » Some special-education funds. » Some federal and trust funds. Central administration would control 28 percent, or roughly $460 million, for: » Food services, student transportation, utilities. » Adult education, centralized special education, including autism services. » Instructional support, administration, of some federal funds. Source: State Department of Education

The "weighted student formula" would give principals control over 48 percent of the Department of Education's operating budget, up from roughly 15 percent now. They would also have discretion over spending an additional 24 percent of the budget within mandated categories such as athletics.

Bruce Coppa, a private-sector volunteer who chaired the 41-member Committee on Weights, said the group tried to shift as much money as possible to the control of principals, and is ready to do more. The Reinventing Education Act requires that principals "expend" at least 70 percent of the budget. The formula, if adopted, would take that to 72 percent, he said.

But Board of Education members Cec Heftel and Laura Thielen argued that the formula -- and the law -- does not go far enough.

"Expenditure means nothing; control means everything," Heftel said. "By what date will 70 percent of the budget be controlled by the principals, not just spent by the principals?"

The weighted student formula is supposed to take effect in the 2006-2007 school year, and the Board of Education has until December to refine it. The formula does not increase the size of the money pot for Hawaii's public schools; it simply divides it up differently.

"This is only the beginning," Board Chairman Breene Harimoto assured members at a meeting of the board's Ad Hoc Committee on the Reinventing Education Act. "This is just a starting point."

Unlike the traditional budget system, which allocates staff to schools based on student enrollment, a weighted student formula divides budget money among schools based on the characteristics of their students. More money would go to those who cost more to educate, such as those learning English as a second language. When such students shift schools, the money would follow them.

The system was developed in Edmonton, Canada, and is in place in several U.S. school districts including Seattle, Houston and San Francisco. It is part of a push to decentralize decision-making and improve student achievement by allowing principals to focus resources where they are needed.

The Committee on Weights was made up of principals, teachers, parents and representatives of the Governor's Office, business and unions. Its recommendation would assign extra weight in the budget for English-language learners and the economically disadvantaged, amounting to $805 and $385 a student per year, respectively.

The group crunched the numbers on two possible scenarios, using different weights for elementary vs. secondary schools. In both cases, most schools lost or gained no more than 15 percent of their budgets.