Schools Asked To Find $66M In Potential Cuts
The Department of Education has been asked to identify possible program and service cuts that would amount to 5 percent of the department’s total budget, or about $66 million — and to submit its report by Friday.
Not all of the programs and services that will be named are doomed for elimination, but it’s a painful task, nonetheless, said Superintendent Kathryn Matayoshi.
Education is not the only department facing this difficult assignment.
The is asking each department to come up with a hypothetical budget reduction plan equal to 5 percent of its total budget, targeting so-called “marginal,” low-benefit, low-priority programs and services. Their reports are due to Budget & Finance by July 8.
They will be used to help Gov. Neil Abercrombie and the Department of Budget & Finance figure out where to distribute $50 million in budget cuts that over which the Legislature gave them discretion.
The idea is to force departments to prioritize seriously and specifically so the governor can cut out programs and services that don’t align with his New Day plan, said Budget and Finance Deputy Director Dean Hirata.
“The hypothetical cuts are going to amount to more than what ultimately we’re trying to get down to,” Hirata told the Board of Education at a Tuesday meeting, but he added that the reports from each department will give the governor more flexibility when he has to make the hard decisions.
“Instead of taking a piecemeal approach and looking at each department individually, we’re trying to take a more holistic look, with broader context. We are prioritizing not by department, but more statewide, with the New Day plan and various initiatives in mind,” Hirata said.
Matayoshi said she was at a loss for predicting which programs and services she and department leaders will have to tap for possible elimination.
“If you look, over the last three years $100 million has been cut from the Department of Education budget,” Board of Education Chairman Don Horner said at the board meeting. “We’re moving from ‘fat’ to ‘muscle’ now, and there isn’t a lot of ‘fat’ left in this organization, I can tell you that. You’ll get the numbers, but now we’re getting into, really the classrooms, and that’s where this board draws the line. It’s far from marginal. This is muscle, and it goes to heart and soul of what our charter is, which is student achievement.”
