Board Of Education Restores Cuts For School Learning Centers
After strong public opposition the proposed budget cuts, DOE will continue to request state funding to support school learning centers.
Learning centers at middle and high schools will likely keep their funding and staff after hundreds of students and educators opposed the Department of Education’s proposal to cut funding for these programs next year.
On Thursday, the Board of Education voted to keep roughly $2 million for learning centers in DOE’s 2025 to 2027 budget. The centers provide after-school and weekend programs for students across the state interested in STEM, performing arts, agriculture and other subjects.
The state currently provides each center an annual budget of $17,000 and a part-time coordinator.
DOE’s original proposal for its operating budget, which totals over $2 billion, would have eliminated learning centers’ budgets next year and cut their staff positions in 2026. The proposal drew over 1,000 pages of from teachers, alumni and parents who argued centers need continued state investment to adequately serve students.
“Without the budget and half time position provided by the state, maintaining our learning center will put added strain on our school to find funding to keep these resources active,” wrote Katie Kealoha, who runs Waianae High School’s center focused on marine science.
DOE initially said schools would be responsible for funding their learning centers through their own budgets, which are largely based on student enrollment. But many advocates said schools don’t have the extra money to support their learning centers and staff, and board members agreed to maintain state support for the programs on Thursday.
DOE’s budget still includes significant cuts to other programs, including $200,000 for Title IX training and $5.8 million for services for students with autism. In a to the BOE, Superintendent Keith Hayashi cited instructions from state leaders that departments should maintain their current levels of funding rather than requesting more resources from lawmakers.
“The Department is cognizant of the fiscal challenges facing the State as we prepared for FB 2025-27 and realizes the importance of better utilizing current resources,” the department said in the it published earlier this month. “We have been asked during Legislative hearings to look within in order to fund some of our budget requests.”
In her testimony during Thursday’s meeting, Rep. Della Au Belatti commended BOE for continuing the funding for learning centers but urged school leaders to push for more state funding for education.
“We really need the board to scrub these recommendations and to present to the Legislature a budget that ensures all of our children thrive,” she said.
Civil Beat鈥檚 education reporting is supported by a grant from Chamberlin Family Philanthropy.
