Ed Department Looks At Cutting School Buses
The Hawaii Department of Education is battening down the hatches as it prepares for another wave of budget cuts, and some of the proposed solutions could rival the unpopularity of Furlough Fridays.
Bussing for students on Oahu could be one of the first services to go, along with programs for at-risk students, superintendent Kathryn Matayoshi told the Board of Education at a committee meeting Monday.
The Legislature has proposed reducing the department’s budget by $55 million per year over the next two fiscal years (2012 and 2013). The department already absorbed more than $469 in budget shortfalls over the last two years, and Matayoshi expects the new cuts will be even deeper once the financial impact of the disasters in Japan is calculated.
Board Chairman Garrett Toguchi issued Monday predicting that the funding shortfall would “cripple our schools, placing a tremendous burden on teachers to the detriment of students’ education.”
“The Department of Education has warned the Legislature that another round of deep reductions will hit the core of our schools, likely leading to layoffs of educators, crowded classes and fewer student support services,” he said.
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