Budget leaves DOE short by $22 million

The Legislature has approved less than half of the additional funds the Department of Education said it needs to run Hawaii’s public school system next school year, but the department says it expects to only partially fill a resulting $38 million funding gap.

That means nearly $22 million for various initiatives will likely go unfunded next year, including a planned multimillion-dollar expansion of a technology program that provides laptops for schools; a half-million dollars to reward high-achieving schools; and $1.9 million to expand the state’s public prekindergarten program.

The Department of Education, which runs the ninth-largest school district in the country, had sought an additional $74 million in general funds for the fiscal year that starts July 1. Lawmakers agreed to provide $35 million of that request, with most of the new funding going toward increased costs for school utilities and student transportation.

The state budget lawmakers approved includes:

» $13 million for increased school utility costs.

» $7.4 million for increased bus transportation costs.

» $5 million for increased school food services costs.

» $3.6 million for bonuses for teachers hired at hard-to-staff schools.

» $2.4 million for the so-called weighted student formula, or per-pupil funds, to account for enrollment increases.

DOE Chief Financial Officer Amy Kunz said the department was able to find alternative funding to cover about $14.6 million, or roughly one-third, of the shortfall created by the smaller budget allocation.

Some of that will require repurposing existing funds. The DOE also will ask the Governor’s Office to release approximately $5 million that was withheld from the department’s budget for the current year.

"The Department of Education has identified areas where we have high priorities that we are seeking internal and alternative funding sources to ensure that we can continue to move on these priorities, and we’re being open and transparent through that process by getting Board (of Education) approval," Kunz told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.

The board on Tuesday unanimously approved the operating budget as proposed.

Some of the unfunded initiatives that the department plans to move ahead with include:

» $4.8 million for an information technology initiative to purchase and implement a new student information system.

» $2 million for textbooks and equipment for new facilities, including Hookele Elementary school, which will open in Kapolei in the fall.

» $2 million for workers’ compensation benefits and claims.

» $1.1 million for bonuses and retroactive bonuses owed to National Board Certified teachers working in low-performing schools.

» $1 million for skilled nursing services required under federal law for special-needs students.

The $35 million appropriation from lawmakers will add to the DOE’s $1.5 billion general fund base budget for the upcoming year. With all means of financing, the DOE is a $2.5 billion operation, with more than 94 percent spent on school-related expenses, according to a recent external audit.