Policy Brief – Fixing Our Schools

Senator Norman Sakamoto
March 5, 2006 (Updated July 25, 2007)

On July 22, 2007 the Honolulu Star-Bulletin reported that the funds to repair schools are being held by the Governor. Our call to release these funds has been echoed in a subsequent Star Bulletin editorial.

As championed in the past, R&M efforts need to continue without disruption. If R&M becomes a low priority, when will the backlog be reduced? Fixing our schools needs to remain a high priority.

The Honolulu Advertiser reported on December 2, 2005 that the Hawaii public schools R&M (repair and maintenance) backlog stood at $525 million. The backlog covers a wide range of needs, among them are: leaking roofs, fallen ceilings, termite and dry rot damage, cracked sidewalks, air conditioning for hot dusty classrooms, and asbestos removal. These problems have been around for over a decade.

Eliminating the R&M backlog is crucial to improving education in Hawaii. Poor classroom conditions can make student performance suffer, and may even cause some students to disrupt class.

THE PROCESS

One need not get confused by the whole funding process. Basically, the Legislature appropriates the money and the Governor releases the money (or chooses not release it) to the designated agency, in this case, the DOE (Department of Education).

WHAT HAS BEEN DONE

For the three fiscal years 2003 – 2006, the Legislature has appropriated $210 million for R&M and $347 million for CIP for a total of $557 million available to build, repair and renovate school facilities.

R&M are ongoing, keeping school facilities in good condition. If neglected or delayed, R&M needs could turn into bigger and more expensive projects. CIP (capital improvement projects) refer to the acquisition of land, new facilities, or construction for major renovations.

WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE

As of January 19, 2006 the Governor had released $175 million of the $210 million appropriated for R&M, and $169 million of the $347 million appropriated for CIP. By the end of January, the Governor had committed to releasing the remaining $35 million for R&M and another $65 million for CIP, leaving $113 million for CIP still to be released. Bottomline: all the R&M funds have been released, but $113 million for CIP have yet to be released. All of the money appropriated by the Legislature should be released as quickly as possible in light of this crucial need.

For the future, we need to look at ways to reduce the present R&M backlog. As part of our Educational Initiatives we proposed a plan for reducing the $525 R&M backlog to a more manageable level of $250 million in three years.

Alexandre Da Silva, "Funds to repair schools withheld", Star Bulletin, July 22, 2007, <http://starbulletin.com/print/2005.php?fr=/2007/07/22/news/story01.html>

Star Bulletin Editorial, "Public Schools, bear too much of state's revenue worries, " Star Bulletin, July 24, 2007, <http://starbulletin.com/print/2005.php?fr=/2007/07/24/editorial/editorial01.html>.

Treena Shapiro, "Schools home in on cash surplus," Honolulu Advertiser, December 15, 2005, <http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2005/Dec/15/ln/FP512150344.html>.

Treena Shapiro and Jan TenBruggencate, "Schools await fixes: $525 M and growing" Honolulu Advertiser, December 2, 2005, <http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2005/Dec/02/ln/FP512020360.html>.

DOE's Factrack website for the status and funding of CIP and R&M
<http://doe.ssfm.com//Index.aspx>.