Gov. David Ige has made the goal of transforming education through a more campus-based orientation a centerpiece of his administration, and the budget proposal he has unveiled for the next biennium meshes well with that objective.
The fact that in his proposals he has sectioned off generous shares of funds for this purpose makes rational sense. But providing the money does not guarantee fulfillment of the plan.
The ongoing struggle with the “cool the schools” program of air conditioning and heat abatement, despite the allotment of $100 million for the job, illustrates the problem. Ige expressed his own frustration with how slow the progress has been in getting the job done: fewer than 50 classrooms cooled since summer.
What he has to explain is how adding $62 million to that stash would bring relief to students any more quickly. Without a plan for overcoming the AC bottleneck of getting contractors on the job, it’s hard to see how that extra allocation is defensible, even in a year with a budgetary surplus.
Ige must answer a similar question when the Legislature convenes in a few weeks, if he hopes to get his education program through the goalposts, as well as other spending plans. It isn’t so much “Where’s the money?” but “How are spending decisions made, and by whom?”
The governor on Monday provided a detailed overview of the $28.5 billion two-year state operating budget, representing a 4 to 5 percent increase over the previous biennium. It covered commitments from severance required in the Maui hospital privatization to funds to combat the state’s ongoing scourge of homelessness.
But the most significant boost in funding was for education. Of the $3 billion in new construction, $373 million was for new schools and classrooms. The Department of Education budget would grow to $1.6 billion, 22 percent of the general fund budget overall.
It was good to see that the governor seems intent on building school facilities where they are needed to stem the overcrowding of schools. The critical area of East Kapolei had been targeted for help last session but was largely ignored. Capitol leadership should not let that happen again this year.
In addition, Ige has filled separate caches of money for specific educational purposes. Besides the air-conditioning initiative, he wants to create a $10 million fund for innovation grants schools could seek. He also requests $9 million to expand the Early College Program that gives high schoolers a chance to earn tuition-free college credits while fulfilling their diploma requirements.
Further, the governor wants a big increase in the “weighted student formula,” a per-pupil allotment that goes directly to the schools, with principals having the most direct control over spending.
That aim seems the least problematic, given that the formula is a well-established pipeline of funds that go directly to student purposes. Similarly, the successful Early College Program has been set up and tested, and should be available to more students, many of whom need exactly this kind of advance toward college readiness.
However, the innovation grants, as attractive as that concept sounds, need to be fleshed out. On what basis will these grants be awarded? How will any new approaches developed in this way be shared with other schools?
Money is a help, but making the most of this program will require principals to raise their awareness of innovation activity statewide, and to share their knowledge broadly.
The governor correctly described the budget as “a balancing act,” weighing immediate needs against future investment. Nowhere is this more evident than in the schools. This budget sets a firm priority on funding education, present and future.
And that’s great — as long as Ige and his lawmaking partners ensure the money hits its mark.
