Those crafting the spending plans at the state Legislature are no longer endowed with coffers fattened with federal funds. The days of pandemic-era assistance are over, and there are many demands being placed on the new budget.
Still, allotting a modest boost to the state’s subsidy of school meals would be a wise expenditure, especially now.
House Bill 757, HB 424 and HB 1500 are measures introduced this session; they deserve a prompt hearing before the House Education Committee. The goal would be to expand subsidies offered to feed keiki from lower-income families who, like everyone, have contended with higher grocery prices.
These are families that are still struggling with inflation, a problem now compounded with uncertainty over how much the federal government will continue to offer assistance.
Of the bills under consideration, HB 757 seeks too rich an enhancement: Starting with the next academic year, all students would be provided free breakfast and lunch. Kaneohe’s Rep. Scot Matayoshi, who introduced the measure, cited his own experience as a Nanakuli science teacher as the reason he puts a high premium on nutrition for students.
“It’s incredibly important that kids come to school fed and ready to learn,” Matayoshi said.
No argument here. And he points out that other states have implemented free meal programs.
However, not all kids have families who are unable to provide these meals within their household budgets, and Hawaii, beset with wildfire recovery costs and other fiscal pressures, likely lacks sufficient resources to sustain free meals for all. It would be far better to target the benefit more narrowly to ensure there is enough money for the myriad public needs to be covered by the biennium budget.
Fortunately, Matayoshi acknowledges fiscal limitations and also is a sponsor of HB 424, which is the more targeted approach. That bill would provide free school breakfast and lunch to those students who already meet federal eligibility requirements for reduced-price meals.
He estimated the add-on cost for the state at about
$2 million per year, though rising food prices surely will add to that bottom line.
Further, there has been a policy battle nationally over how programs now under the U.S. Department of Education umbrella should be managed.
The Trump administration is reportedly considering executive orders to dismantle the federal DOE as part of its effort to reduce the government workforce and costs. Functions authorized by statute could move to other departments.
This level of uncertainty ought to prompt state lawmakers to find ways to bolster the federal social safety net in various ways, not the least of which is the school meals subsidy.
Other efforts, such as HB 1500, should be moved along as well, for further discussion. This bill, introduced by state Rep. Trish La Chica, would change how school meals resources are managed in Hawaii. It would consolidate revenue from meal sales, federal aid and other sources into a unified special fund dedicated to cafeteria operations.
This idea seems to offer potential efficiencies while helping the state maintain its eligibility for federal aid.
The impact of such a program was plainly felt last week when the alert went out about a freeze in federal funding. Headlines fired out concerns that school lunches were at risk.
That worry has subsided for now, because the courts intervened and the memo announcing the freeze was rescinded. But school officials are not exhaling yet, nor should they. School nutrition is critical to classroom readiness. Seeing that a sufficient meals program is on solid ground merits a high priority at the state Capitol.