Local News
DOE cuts blasted by charters
Schools say eliminating overseer of mandatory programs won't work
by Bret Yager
Tribune-Herald Staff Writer
Local charter school administrators aren't happy with a
Department of Education proposal to cut funding for 28 student services
coordinators at charter schools statewide.
The $1.9 million budget cut for the 2009-11 fiscal biennium is a fraction of the $31 million budget reduction the DOE is currently proposing for the entire education system. The cuts are mandated by Gov. Linda Lingle as part of statewide belt-tightening to meet a $900 general fund shortfall.
Under the new budget scenario, individual charter schools would pay for their own student services coordinators, using their per-pupil funding, which is just over $7,000 this year.
Steve Hirakami, director of the Hawaii Academy of Arts & Sciences in Pahoa, questioned how cutting SSC funding will save money, since the positions are mandatory and the money to pay the coordinators has to come from somewhere. Cuts should be limited to optional programs, Hirakami argued.
The DOE says the SSC positions are optional, though many of the services they provide are not.
The cut eliminates duplication since the money is already contained in charter school allocations for that purpose, the DOE says.
John Thatcher, director of Connections Public Charter School, said that cutting the salaries out of the DOE budget and making them the responsibility of individual charter schools amounted to a shell game.
"It's just shifting the responsibility from the DOE side to the charter schools," Thatcher said. "They're both public entities, and these positions are required."
Thatcher said the cuts were a topic of a teleconference by the Hawaii Charter Schools Network late this week. Thirteen of the state's 31 charter schools are on the Big Island.
The SSC is usually one of the highest paid positions -- $70,000 a year at the top end -- because it's a 12-month position, Thatcher said. The DOE estimates average SSC salaries at $48,000.
Thatcher says student services coordinators are vital because they ensure that schools are compliant with federal laws regarding student services. It's impossible to do without one, he said.
Along with making sure that mandated programs and services are available to students, coordinators collect and report student data and administer tests, including those that qualify students for special education programs.
While public schools already pay for coordinators through per-student dollars, that becomes unaffordable when you're talking about a school with 100 students, Hirakami said.
"The governor wanted cuts in discretionary funds. I don't see how you can call this discretionary," Hirakami said. "Now, we have to go fight with the governor and Budget and Finance to get that restored to our funds."
The BOE is scheduled to discuss the cuts -- along with the rest of its budget changes -- on Oct. 9, one day before the governor's deadline. The BOE meeting had been scheduled for Kealakehe High School in Kona, but has been moved to William McKinley High School on Oahu. That's because a triathlon is being held in Kona on that day, said BOE spokesman Milton Goto.
"We were having a very hard time getting accommodations and rental vehicles for the board and staff," Goto said.
An Oct. 6 meeting of the BOE's Budget & Fiscal Accountability Committee has also been moved to McKinley, where there is more room for audience than at the prior location, Goto said.
The education department is still looking for programs to cut, DOE spokesperson Sandy Goya said in an e-mail. The $31 million figure represents a 10 percent cut. Lingle has requested 15 percent and 20 percent reduction scenarios as well.
Goya said it was too early to tell if the DOE would create those additional scenarios.
E-mail Bret Yager at byager@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
The $1.9 million budget cut for the 2009-11 fiscal biennium is a fraction of the $31 million budget reduction the DOE is currently proposing for the entire education system. The cuts are mandated by Gov. Linda Lingle as part of statewide belt-tightening to meet a $900 general fund shortfall.
Under the new budget scenario, individual charter schools would pay for their own student services coordinators, using their per-pupil funding, which is just over $7,000 this year.
Steve Hirakami, director of the Hawaii Academy of Arts & Sciences in Pahoa, questioned how cutting SSC funding will save money, since the positions are mandatory and the money to pay the coordinators has to come from somewhere. Cuts should be limited to optional programs, Hirakami argued.
The DOE says the SSC positions are optional, though many of the services they provide are not.
The cut eliminates duplication since the money is already contained in charter school allocations for that purpose, the DOE says.
John Thatcher, director of Connections Public Charter School, said that cutting the salaries out of the DOE budget and making them the responsibility of individual charter schools amounted to a shell game.
"It's just shifting the responsibility from the DOE side to the charter schools," Thatcher said. "They're both public entities, and these positions are required."
Thatcher said the cuts were a topic of a teleconference by the Hawaii Charter Schools Network late this week. Thirteen of the state's 31 charter schools are on the Big Island.
The SSC is usually one of the highest paid positions -- $70,000 a year at the top end -- because it's a 12-month position, Thatcher said. The DOE estimates average SSC salaries at $48,000.
Thatcher says student services coordinators are vital because they ensure that schools are compliant with federal laws regarding student services. It's impossible to do without one, he said.
Along with making sure that mandated programs and services are available to students, coordinators collect and report student data and administer tests, including those that qualify students for special education programs.
While public schools already pay for coordinators through per-student dollars, that becomes unaffordable when you're talking about a school with 100 students, Hirakami said.
"The governor wanted cuts in discretionary funds. I don't see how you can call this discretionary," Hirakami said. "Now, we have to go fight with the governor and Budget and Finance to get that restored to our funds."
The BOE is scheduled to discuss the cuts -- along with the rest of its budget changes -- on Oct. 9, one day before the governor's deadline. The BOE meeting had been scheduled for Kealakehe High School in Kona, but has been moved to William McKinley High School on Oahu. That's because a triathlon is being held in Kona on that day, said BOE spokesman Milton Goto.
"We were having a very hard time getting accommodations and rental vehicles for the board and staff," Goto said.
An Oct. 6 meeting of the BOE's Budget & Fiscal Accountability Committee has also been moved to McKinley, where there is more room for audience than at the prior location, Goto said.
The education department is still looking for programs to cut, DOE spokesperson Sandy Goya said in an e-mail. The $31 million figure represents a 10 percent cut. Lingle has requested 15 percent and 20 percent reduction scenarios as well.
Goya said it was too early to tell if the DOE would create those additional scenarios.
E-mail Bret Yager at byager@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
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