Some state lawmakers are questioning the Department of Education’s request for $35 million for a new building to relieve overcrowding at the state’s largest high school because the same amount paid for the construction an entire elementary school campus last year.
The $35 million request for Ewa Beach’s Campbell High School — which enrolled 3,049 students this school year — is included in Gov. David Ige’s proposed budget, which lawmakers are using as a guide for crafting the state budget for next fiscal year.
TAKING THE HEAT
State lawmakers have raised concerns about a $35 million budget request to build a new classroom building at Campbell High School in Ewa Beach, the state’s largest school.
» The school — initially built for 1,700 students — enrolled 3,049 students this school year. Over the winter break, eight portable buildings with 15 classrooms were installed to help with overcrowding. The new classroom building would add about 30 more classrooms.
» Lawmakers question the price tag and whether the project is just a temporary fix. Some contend the state should instead be investing in a new high school for the growing region, given that the Department of Education was able to build an entire elementary school last year for $38 million.
Campbell High
» Built in 1961
» Largest enrollment among Hawaii public schools
» 3,049 students, up from 2,600 five years ago |
The criticism, during a legislative budget briefing before the House and Senate money committees on Thursday, spanned four hours. Some lawmakers contend the money would be better spent on a new high school for West Oahu, the island’s fastest-growing region.
“To go to the public and say we built a whole school … for $40 million (with) 40 to 45 classrooms, (and) it’s now going to cost us over $1 million per classroom to build a building on an existing campus … It’s a hard thing for us to swallow,” said Rep. Richard Onishi (D, South Hilo-Keaau-Honuapo), referring to Ho‘okele Elementary, which opened over the summer in Kapolei.
Duane Kashiwai, public works administrator for the DOE, said the Campbell High building would include about 30 classrooms, including “specialty” classrooms such as science labs. He said the estimated cost also includes funds to upgrade aging utilities and move existing buildings on the 55-year-old campus, which was initially built to accommodate 1,700 students, to make room for the new building.
“Campbell’s existing infrastructure and campus layout is not the best to shoehorn a big building in there,” Kashiwai said.
Dann Carlson, the DOE’s assistant superintendent for school facilities, added that Ho‘okele Elementary, which came in under budget at $38.3 million, realized cost savings in part because it was the first public school built using a so-called design-build method, a streamlined delivery system where the design and construction services are handled by a single company.
That method also requires upfront funding for the entire project, unlike typical public works projects, which are funded in phases as a project moves from planning to design and construction. DOE officials said the Campbell High building wouldn’t be an ideal candidate for a design-build project because there are “a lot of unknowns” with the age of the campus and underground utilities that have to be moved.
State Rep. Matthew LoPresti (D, Ewa Villages- Ocean Pointe-Ewa Beach) called the planned Campbell High building a stopgap measure. He said the area desperately needs another high school. Both Campbell and Kapolei High — which was built in 2000 and is the fifth-largest high school in the state, with 2,038 students — are bursting at the seams.
“East Kapolei high school, that needed to be handled 10 years ago. That’s how urgent the situation is out there,” he said.
Kashiwai said the DOE is in active discussions with the state Department of Land and Natural Resources about a possible site for a new high school near the University of Hawaii-West Oahu campus. He said if the department was to get title to the site, it would then move into “active planning to put that school up.”
House Finance Chairwoman Sylvia Luke criticized the department’s approach to awarding construction contracts, saying it doesn’t encourage competitive bidding.
“Today we talked a lot about the $35 million for Campbell High School. … What’s so competitive when we already told everybody in the state of Hawaii and everybody in the world exactly what they can bid for?” Luke (D, Punchbowl-Pauoa-Nuuanu) said. “For every DOE facility contract, before you even go out for bid — or so-called competitive bid — everybody knows what the DOE asked for and what the Legislature appropriated.”
DOE Superintendent Kathryn Matayoshi replied, “I don’t know how else we ask for the right amount of money without giving you an estimate of the cost.”
Luke recommended the department consider incentives for contractors to come in below estimated costs. “I think we need to stop thinking like bureaucrats. We have to be creative in how do we make it truly competitive. Are we really getting the bang for our buck, and we have to do it different.”
Carlson, the facilities assistant superintendent, said the DOE is looking at alternatives, but added that it can be a challenge to think outside the box while working within the state’s procurement law.
The request for the Campbell High building is part of $115 million the governor’s capital improvements budget is seeking in additional bond financing for school projects next year. The request also includes $30 million for so-called heat abatement, or initiatives to cool classrooms, and $50 million in lump sum funds.
The amount is well below the $455.5 million the DOE had asked for in state-backed bonds.
On the operations side, Ige’s budget adds $45.7 million in general funds, including the DOE’s full request for $26.5 million in per-pupil funds that are allocated through what’s known as the weighted student formula. In addition, the governor included $9 million to cover a shortfall for increasing utility costs at schools and $6.9 million to cover another shortfall in student bus transportation costs.
The funding, if ap- proved, would add to the $1.53 billion in general funds legislators approved for the department in 2015 as part of the state’s two-year budget.
