Department of Education Requests $19 Million in Emergency Funding

The state of Hawaii's Department of Education is requesting $19 million in emergency funding from the Legislature to pay for shortfalls in its school lunch and bus transportation programs.  According to Kathryn Matayoshi, the Schools Superintendent, the state had reduced the amount of funding for these programs thee years ago, and inflation has increased their costs.  Matayoshi noted that the DOE has been dipping into their cash reserves to make ends meet, but this is drying up.  If funding is not given, the price of school lunch may increase and bus routes may be canceled.  Currently, elementary school students pay $2.25 for lunch while high school students pay $2.50.  About 47 percent of public school students qualify for free or reduced lunch, based upon family income levels.  

Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser, 10-22-2014, www.staradvertiser.com
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Publicly Funded Preschool Education on Ballot

In the upcoming November 4th ballot, voters in the state of Hawaii will be able to decide if the state should provide public fund to private preschools to help educate Hawaii's 4-year-olds. Most groups in Hawaii agree that preschool education is a good thing, but differ on the idea of giving money to private preschools.  Supporters of the measure, including the nonprofit organization Good Beginnings Alliance-Children's Action Network, believes that it is important that preschool education be more widely available for families, especially low-income families. However, opponents of the bill, including the Hawaii State Teachers Association, argue that preschool programs should be available to all children, free of charge, at public schools.  HSTA notes that Hawaii is one of only ten states without state-funded universal preschools and that half of the students who enter kindergarten have no preschool education.

Wil Okabe, the President of the Hawaii State Teachers Association, stated, "Constitutional amendment No. 4 would take money away from the public schools and benefit private preschools.We feel that because the infrastructure is in place, there is a public school in every community, and we have certified and trained teachers, we can do it. Our No. 1 issue is equity and accessibility, that no kids be left behind."

Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser, 10-13-2014, www.staradvertiser.com
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New Maui Public High School Construction Delayed Until 2020

South Maui has been waiting patiently for years for a new public high school to be built in Kihei, but now, they will be forced to wait even longer as funding issues mean that the school, which was expected to be done in 2016, will be ready for students by 2020.  This is extremely frustrating for residents who noted that currently, more than 700 high-school students living in South Maui are forced to attend schools outside of their community. Baldwin and Maui High Schools, which have taken in the overflow, are significantly overcrowded because of this.  When completed, Kihei High School is expected to eventually serve 1,650 students.

In 2013, the state Legislature approved $130 million to be spent for the project, out of which $30 million would come from state backed bonds and $100 million would come from the Department of Education's State Educational Facilities Improvement fund.  The bonds will became available in July 2014, which was the start of the fiscal year, but the DOE is not willing to release their $100 million to start building Kihei High School. The DOE is arguing that there are a lot of other maintenance and improvement projects across the state that need to be attended to first, before a new school could be built.  Some speculate that the Department of Education will request the state to find a different source for their $100 million, perhaps from general obligation bonds.

Andrew Beerer, who chairs the Kihei High School Action Team subcommittee, stated, "I think what's frustrating for the community is that for six years we were led down a path being told this would be a design-build project and we lobbied the Legislature for this huge amount of money because they said they would need it all upfront. Then, not to play the blame game, but someone changes the dynamic in the 13th hour. Now, there's no real timeline, the financing is uncertain. I'm just like, wow, we're really in no-man's land now. We just have to stay on top of them and make sure that they go out for that $30 million and get it bonded and make sure this remains a priority. They say they're committed to this, but not until they put bulldozers on the land and spend that $30 million will they be committed to finish. If not, we could see this completely fall off the radar."

Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser, 9-27-2014, www.staradvertiser.com
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Fewer Public School Teachers Leave by the End of 2013-2014 School Year

According to a preliminary report issue by the Department of Education, only 876 of the roughly 13,500 public school teachers left their jobs over the course of the 2013-2014 school year. Out of this, approximately 60 percent had resigned and 40 percent retired.  Sixteen of the teachers were terminated by the DOE.  These numbers are actually better than the last few years, where 1,030 teachers left during the 2012-2013 school year and 1,111 teachers left during the 2011-2012 school year.  Furthermore, the 876 teachers that are leaving this year represent less than 7 percent of the workforce, significantly lower than the national turnover rate for public school teachers of 17 percent.

Starting this fall, a teacher's evaluation rating will be tied to tenure, raises and termination, with the ratings based in part on how well students perform on tests.  Some experts are concerned that this would once again increase the number of teachers that decide to leave the Department of Education.  Donalyn Dela Cruz, spokeswomen for the DOE, stated that they were investing in creating a leadership pipeline to help retain teachers.

Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser, 7-27-2014, www.staradvertiser.com
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State Mandating Increased Instructional Hours for Schools

Starting this fall, the State of Hawaii's middle and high schools will be required to provide a minimum of 5 1/2 hours of instruction per day, or a total of 990 hours per year.  The law also requires that all public schools have at least 180 days a year of instruction. Most schools are prepared for this increase, but there has been some challenges in comply without exceeding teachers' contract seven-hour workday and other labor requirements such as teacher preparation time.  The teachers union has argued that instructional time should be collectively bargained and not mandated by law.

By the 2016-2017 school year, all elementary and secondary schools would be required to provide an average of at least six hours of instruction time per day, or 1,080 hours per year.

Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser, 5-21-2014, www.staradvertiser.com
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Addressing the Deferred Maintenance Problem at the University of Hawaii System

The University of Hawaii is facing a significant problem with deferred maintenance issues across their 10-campus system.  According to UH officials, the problems would cost approximately $487 million to fix, with the vast majority of that amount, a total of $407 million, needed for the main Manoa campus.  The school is requesting that state lawmakers give them the authority to issue revenue bonds to fund the maintenance projects, and stated that the debt for these bonds would be repaid over the next 30 years by increasing tuition costs. Howard Toto, the UH Chief Financial Officer, stated, "We have, really, a situation where we need to think hard about how we want to proceed going forward. It's something we can't ignore, but we're somewhat inhibited by funding because we can't do a whole lot without the funds."

However, many lawmakers are not comfortable with the concept of increasing the financial burden of future students by dramatically increasing their tuition.  Issac Choy, a state representative and the chairman of the House Higher Education Committee, stated, "Let's just call a spade a spade: Revenue bonds mean tuition. The kids are the ones who were going to have to repay this."  The state was willing to give the University of Hawaii $50 million in state-backed general obligation bonds for next year for systemwide capital revenue and deferred maintenance needs.

Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser, 5-17-2014, www.staradvertiser.com
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More Public High School Graduates Enter College, But Many Are Still Not Prepared

According to a recent study conducted by the Department of Education, nearly 54 percent of the students who graduate from public high schools enrolled in a two-year or four-year college the following fall, which is an increase from the 50 percent posted in 2010.  However, this number is still significantly lower than the national average of 62 percent and the state's goal of 71 percent by 2018.  The only two public high schools that have already reached the state's goal are Kalani High School (78 percent) and Mililani High School (71 percent).  Roosevelt High came very close at 70 percent.

Of those students who entered the University of Hawaii system (either a community college or a four year school), approximately a third of them had to take remedial courses. Thirty-two percent had to take a remedial math course, while 31 percent had to take a remedial English course. Department of Education Deputy Superintendent Ronn Nozoe praised these numbers, since they were down from a few years ago.  Nozoe stated, "The college-going rate is stable, which is good, but the real story within this is the reduction in the percent of kids who need to take remedial courses when they go to the university. It's one thing to send a certain number of kids there, but then find out that they have to take remedial courses because they can't take college-level courses. It tells us that we're sending more kids prepared for college to college."

Critics of the Department of Education, believe that if a third of public school graduates who enter the University of Hawaii system are unable to take even basic math and English classes, something is still fundamentally flawed.

Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser, 5-8-2014, www.staradvertiser.com
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BYU-Hawaii to End All Intercollegiate Sports in 3 Years

Officials of the Brigham Young-Hawaii campus have announced that they will be phasing out its athletic program over the next three years.  According to the University, the resources being spent on athletics would be better used to help increase enrollment.  The school stated that the athletic department has an operating budget of approximately $1.2 million, and that money would be used to help grow the school to 3,200 students from its current 2,700 students.  The school will honor its current athletic scholarships through 2016.

Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser, 3-29-2014, www.staradvertiser.com
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BYU Hawaii Considering Eliminating Intercollegiate Athletics

Members of the Brigham Young-Hawaii administration are discussing whether or not the university will continue to offer intercollegiate athletics in the future.  BYU-Hawaii is operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and currently has approximately 2,500 students on their Laie campus on the North Shore of Oahu.  The school features 11 different sports teams and have been quite successful over the years.  However, church officials note that BYU-Idaho, another school that is operated by the Latter-day Saints, had eliminated their intercollegiate athletic program and focused solely on academics.  Since making that decision, BYU-Idaho had achieved tremendous growth in enrollment.

Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser, 3-25-2014, www.staradvertiser.com
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International Students Contribute $108.5 Million to Hawaii's Economy

According to a study released by the Institute of International Education, a total of 4,450 international students studied in Hawaii during the 2012-2013 academic school year, and spent approximately $108.5 million in tuition and living expenses.  Approximately 20.9 percent of these students are from Japan, while students from South Korea make up 13.7 percent of international students.  China came in third at 7.6 percent, while Norway at 4.7 percent and Taiwan at 4.1 percent rounded out the top five.  The University of Hawaii at Manoa had the largest number of foreign students with 1,303.  Brigham Young University Hawaii had 1,046 international students while Hawaii Pacific University had 937.  Kapiolani Community College with 702 international students and UH-Hilo with 182 international students rounded out the top five.

Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser, 11-12-2013, www.staradvertiser.com
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New Learning Center to Be Built on Leeward Coast of Oahu

Kamehameha Schools has announced that they will be constructing a new learning center in the town of Maili on the Leeward Coastline of Oahu.  Initially the center will have a total of twelve preschool classrooms, which would be able to accommodate 185 preschoolers.  However, that is just the first phase of the $33 million complex, which will eventually have meeting spaces for various community organizations serving young children and their families.  The complex will be built on 40 acres of land owned by the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands. Kamehameha Schools will be leasing this land.

Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser, 11-3-2013, www.staradvertiser.com
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Board of Education Requesting Additional $65 Million for Next Fiscal Year

The Board of Education is requesting an additional $65 million from the state for the next fiscal year on top of the $1.37 billion budget that has been previously been approved by the Department of Education.  Under the proposal, $40 million would be used to increase the number of teaching staff at various schools and another $25 million would be used to start adding air conditioning units to classrooms across the state.  Of the 255 public school classes in the state of Hawaii, only 12 schools have central air conditioning.  It should be noted that the Department of Education has estimated that if they were to install air conditioning in all classrooms, it would cost the state more than $1 billion and triple the current electrical bill that the department gets.

Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser, 10-16-2013, www.staradvertiser.com
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Aloha Tower Marketplace and Hawaii Pacific University Update

Last year, Hawaii Pacific University took control of the Aloha Tower Marketplace shopping center and stated at that time that they would be working to improve the first-floor retail component of the property and add student housing on the second floor.  However, under a modified proposal, it now appears that HPU will be taking over a significant part of the first floor space for their own facilities and offices.  This would include adding a library, a computer lab, housing office, fitness center, pool hall, graduate center, classrooms and an admissions and welcoming center to the first floor.

One item that was previously proposed, but is no longer being considered, was the building of an indoor sports and entertainment complex at Pier 10.  The plan was to build a facility that would seat between 1,000 and 2,000 fans, and be the home court for the school's basketball and volleyball programs, as well as concerts, performances and other community events.  However, the University has decided that the site would be too small for such an undertaking and could not be expanded further.

There is some concern from the public that the school has significantly changed their proposal and would not be able to provide much revenue to the state, who owns the land under the marketplace.  The Aloha Tower Development Corp, the state agency that manages the state-owned land under the marketplace, would have to approve any proposed changes by Hawaii Pacific University.

Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser, 10-9-2013, www.staradvertiser.com
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Public Schools Showed Improvement Through "Strive HI" Program

The state Department of Education released their results from their new "Strive HI" system which is designed to better prepare students for success in college and in careers.  The program credits schools for improvement in test scores, attendance, graduation and college-going rates, and works to close the achievement gap between high needs students and their peers.  Ronn Nozoe, the Schools Deputy Superintendent, stated, "The Strive HI system really focuses on a continuum-of-improvement concept. No Child Left Behind was either ‘met' or ‘not met', that's it. It didn't give schools a whole lot of detail about what was working at their schools. Our system is built on multiple measures that allow us to have a very comprehensive and detailed look at a bunch of success factors that we believe are the most critical ones for student success, and measure them."

Under the Strive HI program, schools could earn a maximum score of 400 points.  Manoa Elementary topped the list with 387 points.

To see where a school ranked, go to: http://www.hawaiipublicschools.org/DOE%20Forms/StriveHIIndexReports/2013StriveHISchoolListFINAL.pdf

Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser, 8-20-2013, www.staradvertiser.com
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Hawaii Pacific University Sells $42 Million Worth of Special-Purpose Bonds

Hawaii Pacific University will sell a total of $42 million worth of special purpose revenue bonds to help finance the redevelopment of the Aloha Tower Marketplace.  HPU plans to add student housing, new retailers and restaurants, and some other university facilities including an event center, more administrative and classroom space, and additional parking.  The renovations are scheduled to begin sometime during the 2013-2014 school year and the university hopes to have the student housing finished prior to the fall of the 2014 school year.

HPU plans to have a second bond issue sometime next year to raise an additional $38 million. That money would be used to improve their Kaneohe campus and their Oceanic Institute at Makapuu.

Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser, 7-27-2013, www.staradvertiser.com
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Eight Public Schools Pilot Laptop and Tablet Program

State lawmakers have provided the Department of Education with $8 million to launch a program allowing eight public schools to give all of their students either a laptop or a tablet.  The DOE had originally hoped to get a total of $29 million from the state to have students in all public schools obtain a device over the next two years. However, lawmakers were uncertain if providing a 1-to-1 digital device per student was the best means of meeting the Common Core State Standards assessments.  

The eight schools include Keaau Elementary, Mililani Mauka Elementary, Mililani Waena Elementary, Moanalua Middle, Nanaikapono Elementary, Nanakuli Elementary, Nanakuli Intermediate and High, and Pahoa Elementary. Each student and teacher would get either a tablet or a laptop, as well as training on how to use Google Apps for Education.

Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser, 7-20-2013, www.staradvertiser.com
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No New Schools Planned for Kakaako Neighborhood

The state Department of Education has expressed their concern that no new schools have been planned for the Kakaako neighborhood, despite plans by the city to grow that community significantly over the next 25 years. Currently there are approximately 12,000 residents living in Kakaako, but with over 22 new condominium towers planned for the neighborhood, it is estimated that about 50,000 people will live there by 2030.  Currently, there are two elementary schools, two middle schools and one high school in the general area, though four of them are actually officially outside of the Kakaako neighborhood boundaries.  To make matters even more challenging, both elementary schools that serve the neighborhood, Royal School and Queen Kaahumanu Elementary, are currently at maximum capacity.  

According to Department of Education officials, normally when a developer decides to build a new community, the developer is required to provide land for a new school and put money towards the school's construction. However, the Hawaii Community Development Authority, which is the state agency responsible for regulating the redevelopment of the Kakaako neighborhood, has no such requirements for the area's two largest developers, Howard Hughes Corp. and Kamehameha Schools.  This may mean that the Department of Education would be responsible for finding a school site and paying for the school's construction.

Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser, 7-18-2013, www.staradvertiser.com
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Department of Education Faces $12 Million Budget Shortfall

Governor Neil Abercrombie has announced that all state departments will continue to face a 5 percent reduction in discretionary spending for the coming fiscal year.  The governor stated in a memo, "At this juncture, we are very optimistic about the recovery of Hawaii's economy, but we remain cautious about its sustainability in the face of numerous uncertainties.  In this light, and in consideration of the many demands on our limited resources, we must continue to be prudent with our expenditures."

For the Department of Education this equates to a $12 million unexpected budget shortfall, leaving board members concerned that the school system may not be able to pay for all of the costs for utilities, bus transportation, school lunches and substitute teachers.  The DOE received a total of $1.4 billion from the state budget, but was not aware of this $12 million cut.  Kathryn Matayoshi, the Schools Superintendent, stated, "This is another quite significant action that we will need to work on and deal with."

Matayoshi and other DOE board members will be meeting with Kalbert Young, the state Budget Director, to try to come up with a plan to make up the difference.  Young stated that the 5 percent withholding will affect all departments in an effort to raise a contingency reserve fund for the state.  Young added, "Should revenues fall too much or the state come under financial hardships, the state needs to have something to react or respond with.  The DOE is saying this could be more impactful than they can accommodate.  I'm open to seeing the financial analysis and financial management analysis for their budget. If there are programs that will be detrimentally impacted, the purpose for the restriction is to provide contingency reserve funding, and this could qualify. That's what it's there for. But to do so, I would have to consider the overall impact to the state."

Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser, 7-5-2013, www.staradvertiser.com
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$33 Million Renovation of Hale Kula Elementary School Underway

A $33 million renovation project of the Hale Kula Elementary School on Schofield Barracks is now underway.  The Department of Defense will be paying $26.6 million of the costs while the state Department of Education will provide the remaining $6.6 million.  The school currently serves approximately 1,000 students, out of which 98 percent of them are military dependents.  According to school principal, Jan Iwase, there have been no upgrades or buildings added to the school since it was constructed in 1959.  The school will get a new student center, cafeteria, classrooms, and library media center.

Kathryn Matayoshi, the Schools Superintendent, stated, "Our celebration is far more than a simple groundbreaking. It's really a symbol of the partnership between the military and the Department of Education in the state of Hawaii with a real dedication and focus on educating our students, our future."  Governor Neil Abercrombie added, "The central focus of today's event is that there was a recognition by the Department of Defense and by the Congress of the United States that in order to sustain and support the quality of life necessary to retain families in the U.S. military, we had to give physical support as well at the school level."  The construction and renovations will take between 14 to 18 months to complete.

Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser, 7-2-2013, www.staradvertiser.com
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State Plans to Build New Elementary School in Kapolei

The state of Hawaii government has announced that they will be building a new elementary school in Kapolei and expanding an existing elementary school in Ewa.  Kapolei II Elementary School will cost approximately $40 million to build and will be located on a 12-acre site just west of Kapolei High School on Fort Barrette Road.  The new elementary school is scheduled to be completed prior to the 2015-2016 school year and would be able to take in 750 students.  The land was donated to the state by developer D.R. Horton.  Currently existing Ewa Elementary School will be receiving a new $9.6 million building.  This building would have seven classrooms, a computer lab, a faculty center, restrooms and utility/mechanical spaces.

State Representative Sharon Har stated, "I'm ecstatic the governor released this money because I think it's an acknowledgement of our ever-growing population.  We need to keep up with the investments in infrastructure.  The Kapolei region is the fastest-growing region in the state of Hawaii, that's a fact.  But I feel like we often get the short end of the stick. Government created this ‘Second City' concept and residents did their part by moving out here, but government hasn't kept up with the infrastructure, and that includes schools.  Now we have ourselves in a situation where Kapolei Elementary and Kapolei Middle have to be run year-round as multitrack schools, with six or seven different tracks, in order to accommodate the population because you have such an overload in capacity of students."

Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser, 6-30-2013, www.staradvertiser.com
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