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Photo of Amy A. Perruso

House District 46
Portion of Waipi‘o Acres, Launani Valley, Wahiawā, Whitmore Village, Waialua, Mokulē‘ia
Room: 444
Phone: 808-586-6700
Fax: 808-586-6702
repperruso@capitol.hawaii.gov

Representative Amy Perruso is a longtime resident of District 46's beautiful Launani Valley and Wahiawā communities. A teacher at heart, her endeavor to educate our children has taken her around the world, from California to Shanghai to Finland and, finally, to the Hawai'i Department of Education, where she taught social studies for almost 20 years.

Representative Perruso previously served as Secretary-Treasurer of the Hawai'i State Teachers Association. She was also a member of Gov. David Ige's Every Student Succeeds Act Team, which crafted a blueprint for the future of Hawai'i's public schools.

Representative Perruso has been a Fulbright Scholar and finalist for the Gilder-Lehrman National History Teacher of the Year Award. When she's not working for her community, Representative Perruso enjoys preserving our 'āina, surfing, and spending time with her family.
Education
• Ph.D. in Political Science, UH Mānoa, awarded with distinction (2013)
• PBSCE-SS, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (2000)
• Ph.D. program in Chinese History, University of California at Los Angeles (1992-1995)
• Fulbright Scholar, University of Helsinki, Finland (1990-1992)
• B.A. with Honors Political Science and East Asian Studies, (1986-1990)


Work
• Secretary-Treasurer, Hawaiʻi State Teachers Association (2015-2018)
• Social Studies Teacher, Mililani High School (2004-2016)
• Teacher, Kapolei Middle School, Kapolei (2002-2004)
• Teacher, Highlands Intermediate School, Pearl City (2001-2002)
• Service Industry Management (1998-2000)
• Teaching Assistant, University of California at Los Angeles (1994-1995)
• Visiting Lecturer, University of Helsinki, Finland (1991-1992)


Community
• Member, Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education - Legislative Advisory Committee (LAC)
• Member, Access Hawai'i Committee (AHC)
• Member, Hawai'i Data Task Force
• Member, Juvenile Justice State Advisory Council (JJSAC)
• Member, Commission to Promote and Advance Civic Education (PACE)

• Co-founded Wahiawā Agricultural Association (2017)
• Founded Civic Educational Council (2016)
• Governor's ESSA Task Force-Sole Secondary Teacher (2016)
• James Madison Fellowship for American Constitutionalism (2015)
• Course Development Consultant for Hawaii DOE E-School (2014)
• Project Coordinator: Hawaiʻi State High School Legislative Internship (2013-2014)
• College Board Reader: U.S. Government and Politics A.P Exam (2008-2017)
• State Social Studies Content Panel (2012-2017)
• National Gilder-Lehrman Outstanding History Teacher Award Finalist (2012)
• Daughters of American Revolution History Teacher of the Year Award Hawaiʻi (2011)
• Kenneth Behring Outstanding History Day Teaching Award (2009)
• Hawaiʻi History Day Teacher of the Year (2009)
• Walmart/PDK Hawaiʻi Teacher of the Year (2007)
December 24, 2024

Boosting civic education and media literacy

Hawai‘i lawmakers are renewing efforts to help students identify fake news and improve their understanding of how the government works.

One proposal calls for schools to have programs to combat misinformation, disinformation and hate speech.

Another would fund two full-time civic education teachers within the state Department of Education.

A third would require the Capitol's Public Access Room to create an outreach and engagement program for the DOE and the University of Hawaiʻi.

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August 5, 2024

How A Group That Started As Libertarian Found Influence In Blue State Hawaii

Photo of Representative Perruso
Democratic Rep. Amy Perruso is skeptical about Grassroot Institute’s professed political neutrality.

Grassroot Institute has not changed its stances, Perruso said. Instead, elected Democrats have started leaning more toward the group’s positions.

“Just in terms of the policies that are passing, it seems to be a more right-wing, right-leaning group” of Democratic lawmakers, she said.

She cited the housing bills, which she said would just allow developers to build more with no guarantee that the units would be affordable, as well as the state’s big income tax cut that she said gave too much of a break to the wealthy.

“The narrative that we are going to be looking at vacancies in the public workforce as a way to make up the difference, make up the gaps in our budget — those are all Republican talking points,” Perruso said.

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February 20, 2024

The Hawaii Department Of Education Is Nowhere Close To Meeting Its Mandate To Buy More Local Food

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The Department of Education has blown past the deadline for a report intended to detail progress toward its mandated goal to buy more local food, delivering mixed messages to lawmakers about its progress in the meantime.

From what education officials have revealed so far, the DOE will need to execute a five-fold spending increase by the end of the decade to spend 30% of its food budget locally by 2030.

DOE Deputy Superintendent Curt Otaguro told lawmakers at a recent hearing that locally sourced food products accounted for 6.14% of the DOE’s spending last year, “a little backwards” from its 6.2% in 2022.

But that number is not final because the DOE has yet to deliver its report which, in addition to the prospect of lapsing funds for a centralized kitchen that the department has banked on, is raising concerns that it will be hard pressed to reach the goals set out in the 2021 law.

Lawmakers passed the bill three years ago with the goal of galvanizing Hawaii’s food system while providing students with more nourishing food.

Rep. Amy Perruso, who sits on the House Education Committee, has repeatedly asked about the report’s whereabouts since mid-January.

Otaguro told lawmakers on Jan. 16 that he believed the report, which was due Dec. 28, had been handed in. On Jan. 30, he doubled down when he said it was submitted but was “a bit late.”

On Tuesday — 41 days past deadline — DOE spokeswoman Nanea Kalani said in an email that the report was still under final review and “will be posted ASAP.” She said it was delayed by changes in key staff and by changes in how the DOE measures and reports its spending on local food.

Then on Wednesday, in another email, the DOE said the “overall percentage of local food had remained steady, perhaps even higher,” given all 1% milk served on the Big Island came from a local source.

Perruso said she understood that staffing was an issue, but also suspected that DOE was “stalling so that we are not able to discuss the data during session.”

Still, she said, “the fact we are not making progress on this should raise alarms.” Progress Delayed

Changes need to be made on a systematic level to see that percentage lift significantly, according to Dennis Chase, Hawaii Farm to School Hui coordinator.

“I don’t know if I ever expected them to go from 6.2 to 7.5% because the system is so constricted,” Chase said.

Community farm-to-school advocates have chastised the department’s slow implementation and lacking community engagement since 2021.

Among the criticisms has been a lack of clear planning on the DOE’s behalf, which former Assistant Superintendent Randall Tanaka — who headed up the food branch — acknowledged last year.

“I don’t have a plan. What I have is a road map: This is where we are, this is where we need to be,” Tanaka said at the time.

The DOE instead banked on the construction of a 30,000-square-foot centralized, Zippy’s-style kitchen in Wahiawa to buy more local food, intended to sit among Sen. Donovan Dela Cruz’s Central Oahu Agriculture and Food Hub, for which Gov. Josh Green released $35 million last year.

The facility is intended to act as a blueprint for similar kitchens across Hawaii.

But Tanaka was fired in December amid a funding controversy over the DOE’s plans to relinquish $465 million in funding for capital improvement projects.

The $35 million for the kitchen was on that list, though the DOE is still canvasing interest and seeking proposals for the kitchen’s build and design with a May 1 deadline.

The budget for the kitchen has been winnowed to $28 million and its footprint has been reduced by one-third.

The DOE’s $465 million in CIP funding will expire on June 30.

The department recently hired a farm-to-school coordinator last year, more than two years after Act 175 was signed into law, and also revealed to local farmers just what its level of local food demand might look like.

The Central Oahu Agriculture and Food Hub, formerly known as the Whitmore Community Food Hub, is slated to host a centralized kitchen to prepare school meals for the entire island of Oahu. (Cory Lum/Civil Beat/2018)

That would then mean farmers’ would have greater security, having DOE as an assured customer before they even plant their crops.

Rep. Kirstin Kahaloa has introduced a handful of farm to school bills this year, predominantly housekeeping measures, including one bill aimed at lifting procurement hurdles for the DOE to purchase local food from local farmers.

The Kona representative was hopeful that the newly appointed coordinator, Weston Yap, would reveal further plans going forward — something she requested last year — to increase the department’s local food tab incrementally to reach 30% by 2030.

The other islands also need a tangible plan moving forward, according to Kahaloa, because Oahu was not going to get the DOE to its 30% goal alone.

"If we only focus on the central kitchen on Oahu we’re not going to make our benchmarks," Kahaloa said.

Click here for the full article
January 31, 2024

A Proposed Constitutional Amendment Would Let Hawaii Use Property Taxes To Fund Schools

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Voters may get a chance to decide if the state should be allowed to use property taxes for public schools, a move that supporters say would get some of Hawaii’s richest homeowners to better support a historically underfunded education system.

The Legislature is considering a proposed constitutional amendment on the issue. But opponents argue that the amendment’s language is misleading for voters and could discourage real estate investment in Hawaii, pointing to failed attempts to pass a similar measure in 2018.

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January 26, 2024

These State Lawmakers Are Collaborating on Policies that Support Regenerative Agriculture

Progressive state legislators often find themselves in a David-and-Goliath battle against the conventional ag industry. One organization is equipping them with resources to support producers using regenerative practices instead.

Civil Eats
January 16, 2024

Here's what state lawmakers are prioritizing for education this legislative session

This year, education proposals in the Hawaiʻi Legislature will focus on pressing issues like the recovery of Lahaina schools and wildfire prevention.

House Education Committee Vice Chair Trish La Chica said the top priorities are Lahaina's families, students, schools and prolonged issues, such as school transportation and recovery from learning loss.

"We're committed to action that prioritizes students' well-being, minimizes disruption, and ensures that their educational progress isn't hindered," La Chica said. The remains of the King Kamehameha III Elementary School in Zone 12A is seen Dec. 8, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaiʻi. The area reopened Monday, Dec. 11, to residents and owners with entry passes. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson) Lindsey Wasson/AP
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AP
The remains of the King Kamehameha III Elementary School in Zone 12A is seen Dec. 8, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaiʻi. The area reopened Monday, Dec. 11, to residents and owners with entry passes. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Last year, the House formed six working groups to gather input from Maui residents to create legislation that would aid in wildfire prevention. The Schools Working Group heard from dozens of frustrated parents and educators over publicizing the Department of Education's evacuation plan.

One bill in the House bipartisan package would require the Department of Education to make an evacuation and communication plan in case of a wildfire, as well as make it available for public schools statewide.

Curt Otaguro, the deputy superintendent of operations, told HPR in an October interview that the DOE had emergency plans for many threats, such as tsunamis and missiles. Although there were evacuation plans for building fires, there were none for brushfires. Local News Lahaina keiki publish a book written and illustrated in makeshift learning hub

Other measure components would require the DOE to work with the state Department of Transportation to develop emergency evacuation routes for all schools.

La Chica said the measure is primarily focused on preparedness and prevention.

"We will be in a better place to protect our students and educators in the event of a future disaster,” she said.

La Chica is also crafting measures to tackle the ongoing school bus driver shortage.

Before the 2024-2025 school year began, the DOE announced that they suspended routes impacting 14 schools on Oʻahu and Kauaʻi.The education department had offered free HOLO cards for public school students to take the city bus.

But La Chica said Pearl City High students still have to walk a mile to the nearest bus stop.

"The school bus driver shortage is not unique to us," she said. "I know that across the nation, we're experiencing workforce shortages across the board, but not being able to address this issue will continue to impact thousands of students across the state because it disrupts their school schedule and, eventually, their academic performance." Hale
Local News
Lawmakers pressure UH to take urgent action on aging student housing

One measure she's drafting would authorize using motorcoaches, small buses and vans for transporting students until more bus drivers are hired.

Another bill would create standards for the education department's school bus services, such as conducting equity assessments before making any decisions related to reducing school bus services, establishing a prioritization system that gives preference to students who live beyond a certain distance from a school, and more. Hale Noelani at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa is located in lower campus and remains vacant. Krista Rados
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HPR
Hale Noelani at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa is located in lower campus and remains vacant.

In the higher education realm, Rep. Amy Perruso, who chairs the committee on higher education and transportation, said the focus will be on funding public education and recruiting teachers.

Perruso said she plans to introduce a bill to create the Registered Teacher Apprenticeship Program to help recruit and retain teachers in Hawaiʻi's public schools, which have long grappled with a chronic teacher shortage.

She also plans to introduce a measure to expand the Hawaiʻi Promise program from the University of Hawaiʻi's community colleges to four-year universities. Local News Survey: Help shape our 2024 Hawaiʻi Legislature coverage

Perruso will also introduce a measure to expand the "last dollar" scholarship program at the University of Hawaiʻi.

For capital improvement projects, Perruso said she would introduce a bill to fund renovation to UH Mānoa's Hale Noelani dorms, which have been vacant for seven years due to disrepair.

But much of the focus will be on this legislative session's Maui recovery efforts.

"It's kind of hard to predict specific outcomes around that," Perruso said. "But I think that's my chief concern that we really center local families and their children in the rebuilding effort, and I have every confidence that the community is doing that. I am just hopeful that we as lawmakers can also do that."

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January 14, 2024

Carryover Bills Are The Capitol's Zombies: Not Strictly Dead But Close

What’s unusual about the second session of the Hawaii Legislature’s biennium, such as the one that starts Wednesday?

Zombies. Thousands of them.

This year there are 2,858 carryover bills, the legislative equivalent of the undead. They exist because every measure that didn’t pass during the first session of the biennium last year is technically still alive.

But no matter how many times supporters of failed first-year legislation are assured that their measures will have another shot in the second year, they almost never do.

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Indeed, over the past decade carryover bills have been reanimated and approved by the Legislature .0079% of the time, according to the calculations of Civil Beat columnist and former lawmaker Beth Fukumoto.

It’s not that a lot of failed proposals from last session won’t get another shot this session. Supporters of high-profile efforts to reform the tax code, establish visitor impact fees and legalize recreational marijuana use are almost certain to give them another whirl in ’24.

We already know that expanding public financing of election campaigns will be reconsidered, along with several other government reform proposals in the “sunshine bills” we were tracking last session.

It’s just that practically everyone connected with the Legislature prefers to introduce shiny new measures rather than bring back carryover bills — even when the language is pretty much identical. All the proposed bills were brand new at the beginning of the Legislature last year, but in the second session of the legislative biennium that begins Wednesday, many measures are barely alive. (David Croxford/Civil Beat/2023) ‘Terribly Inefficient’

The Hawaii Campaign Spending Commission introduces a set of bills every session, and they are presented as new measures to the Senate president and House speaker. This will include slightly altered versions of several 2023 bills.

“We’ve never had a carryover bill revived, actually,” says Gary Kam, the commission’s general counsel.

For a decade, the commission introduced legislation every year to increase fines on super PACs that violate campaign contributions laws — “ever since what happened with PRP in 2012,” Kam says, referring to spending violations by the Pacific Resource Partnership, a proponent of Honolulu rail. “Every year, the commission introduced a bill, a similar bill. It wasn’t changed. And finally we did get it passed in 2023.”

Ten years, one proposal, 10 different bills.

“Customarily what the Legislature has done is they’ll reintroduce the bill and start from the beginning again, which I think is terribly inefficient.” Rep. David Tarnas

Rep. Amy Perruso, chair of the House Higher Education Committee, considers her top priority this session to be pushing anew for expansion of the Hawaii Promise Program to offer scholarships to students at four-year universities.

But rather than resurrect House Bill 390 that proposed just that, she’ll introduce a new measure “with slight changes for the purposes of updating context and reckoning with budgetary changes,” says her legislative aide, Izzy Usborne.

Making those changes in HB 390 would have been another option, but “normally, in a biennium, I would generally say that bills should be reintroduced in the second year,” Perruso says.

Rep. David Tarnas, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, hopes to revisit several measures that didn’t make it through the Legislature last session. He wishes more of them could be resurrected rather than starting over with reintroductions.

“Customarily what the Legislature has done is they’ll reintroduce the bill and start from the beginning again, which I think is terribly inefficient,” Tarnas says. “I have always encouraged chairs to bring up bills that are still pending in their committee that should be heard.”

“So if there’s a bill that we passed out of the House and it’s still pending in Judiciary over in the Senate, rather than introduce a new bill, I’ll just go over to the Senate and ask Chair (Karl) Rhoads to hear the bill pending in his committee,” Tarnas says. “They can move forward with that, because I would prefer not having to do the same thing all over again and go through that process.” There’s A Reason For Everything

Sen. Les Ihara, a veteran legislator, says lawmakers generally choose to introduce new bills rather than bring back old ones for practical reasons, not just out of force of habit.

For one thing, sponsors may simply want to avoid running into the same obstacle — usually a committee chair — for the second straight session.

“A new measure could potentially be tweaked to get a different committee referral,” Ihara says. “If one committee was a problem, you could tweak it in a way to avoid the committee or have another committee be the main reviewer.” Sen. Les Ihara says legislators have their reasons for reintroducing measures rather than resurrecting carryover bills. (David Croxford/Civil Beat/2023)

Other times, legislators might simply calculate that their proposal has a better chance of passing with a fresh start and a new bill number, Ihara says.

Even though he’s a proponent of using carryover bills when possible, Tarnas acknowledges there are sometimes reasons to address first-session issues with new second-session approaches.

For example, instead of resurrecting stymied measures to increase compensation for court interpreters and court-appointed attorneys, he says he’s reached agreement with Judiciary officials to have money for those purposes included in the proposed department budget.

In another case, Tarnas backed a criminal justice reform measure that passed the House but never got a hearing in the Senate. He now figures that House Bill 1336 sought to accomplish too much in a single measure. Rather than just try it again, he’s working to divide it into “four or five” bills that the Senate may find more digestible.

If you were pushing for a measure that didn’t make it past the finish line last session, now is a good time to contact legislators and lobby for its reconsideration.

Perruso thinks some carryover bills might stand a better chance this session because of the way they met their demise in the “chaotic” final hours of last session’s conference committee period.

One candidate is Senate Bill 1413, which simplifies the criteria to qualify for residency status at the University of Hawaii, a measure she says “impacts our young people and is a way to bring people home.”

Perruso says she’s not the only lawmaker who is asking: If a bill died simply because legislative leaders said they ran out of time, why not bring it back this session?

Still, experience shows that most carryover bills will not escape their zombie status.

Which means if you were pushing for a measure that didn’t make it past the finish line last session, now is a good time to contact legislators and lobby for its reconsideration — in its current form or, more likely, as a newer model.

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January 9, 2024

Hawaii Legislators To Tackle School Safety Issues From Broken Fire Alarms To Evacuation Plans

The recovery of Maui schools and students and expansion of fire prevention efforts on campuses statewide will be a top priority for the 2024 legislative session that begins next week.

Lawmakers also will grapple with educational problems carried over from previous years such as improving school transportation, repairing aging school facilities and reversing students’ learning loss from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Rep. Amy Perruso said she’s worried about the Legislature’s ability to adequately fund the efforts as the state prepares to spend approximately $500 million on helping Maui rebound from devastating Aug. 8 fires.

“If we were going to have money adequately funding public education, it should have happened last session,” Perruso said, pointing to the state’s $2 billion budget surplus in 2023. Lahaina’s King Kamehameha III Elementary school was destroyed in the Aug. 8 fire. Other schools survived the flames and have welcomed back students. But concerns remain high over environmental dangers as well as the need for evacuation plans in case of future disasters. (David Croxford/Civil Beat/2023) Lessons From Maui

West Maui students are back in class after a deadly fire that destroyed much of the historic town of Lahaina, including an elementary school. But many families are still displaced and concerns are high over the environmental safety and air quality on surviving campuses.

House Education Committee Chair Justin Woodson, who co-led a working group on schools, said many community members also have raised concerns that schools statewide are unprepared to face major emergencies, from active shooters to wildfires.

In a November House briefing, the Department of Education said it had evacuation plans for Lahaina schools in the case of another fire, but it lacked buses that could readily transport students off campus. For example, at Lahainaluna High School, students would need to leave campus by foot or use their personal vehicles to evacuate, said deputy superintendent Curt Otaguro.

Woodson said the working group is developing a proposal that would require the DOE to ensure every school has adequate emergency action plans in place that would detail responses to tsunamis, fires and other events. The bill would also require the department to make the plans publicly available so legislators and families could provide feedback, Woodson added. House Education Committee Chair Justin Woodson, right, co-led the House Working Group on Schools, which released its recommendations on preparing schools for future disasters last month. (David Croxford/Civil Beat/2023)

Hawaii schools also have faced years-long delays in fixing broken fire alarm systems. In November, DOE estimated that 28 systems were in need of repair, although the department was unable to provide a timeline for when these alarms would be fixed.

Following a successful bill from last year requiring the DOE to provide a list of broken fire alarm systems across the state, Rep. Jeanne Kapela plans on introducing another bill that would appropriate $25 million toward completing these repairs.

“This should be a no-brainer for keeping students safe, especially after the Maui wildfires,” Kapela said. Solving Bus Driver Shortages

Two weeks before the start of the school year, the DOE announced the suspension and cancellation of bus routes to 14 schools on Oahu and Kauai. Correction: An earlier version of this story said 14 bus routes were canceled.

The department encouraged students to take the city bus or Skyline rail to school, but Rep. Trish La Chica said families in her Central Oahu district were still scrambling to find viable transportation options.

The new vice chair of the House education committee plans to introduce a bill creating standards around how the department will address bus shortages in the future. In particular, La Chica said, she would like the department to offer families more advanced notice the next time bus routes are disrupted since not all students live within walking distance from their schools.

“Two weeks right before school starts is just unacceptable,” La Chica said. A bus of elementary school students celebrate their return to studying in Lahaina Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023. Princess Nahienaena Elementary School opened their campus for King Kamehameha III Elementary School to place temporary classrooms. The schools have been closed since the Aug. 8 fire and studying at other schools in Maui. King Kamehameha III Elementary School was destroyed in the blaze. (Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat/2023) Leading up to the 2023-24 school year, the Department of Education canceled and suspended 14 bus routes on Kauai and Oahu. (Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat/2023)

School transportation is also top of mind for Kapela, who hopes to appropriate $10 million for addressing the state’s school bus driver shortages. The funding could go toward raising bus driver pay, particularly in rural and hard-to-staff areas of the state. It could also support schools that are using their own budgets to provide additional transportation for students, Kapela said.

“If we can’t get students to school, it’s a failure of the state,” Kapela said. Preparing A Future Workforce

Legislators and advocates also will seek ways to recruit and retain more educators as the state has long suffered from a dearth of teachers.

When new teachers come to Hawaii, one of the greatest challenges they face is finding housing, said Sen. Tim Richards. This session, Richards added, he’s prioritizing creating more affordable housing for teachers.

The Big Island already has some teacher housing available in rural areas, but Richards said he would like to expand these offerings, particularly at schools like Kohala High and Waimea Elementary that have open land surrounding their campuses.

When it comes to staffing preschool and child care centers across the state, Deborah Zysman said more investment is crucial. Zysman, executive director of Hawaii Children’s Action Network, said the state needs to double its workforce in order to meet its goal of providing preschool to all three and four-year-olds by 2032.

But, Zysman added, low pay and high turnover rates make it difficult for Hawaii to even stabilize its early learning workforce at this time. Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke introduced a new initiative to increase the number of preschool seats state-wide last January. (David Croxford/Civil Beat/2023)

Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke, who has led the Ready Keiki initiative aiming to increase the number of public preschool classrooms in Hawaii, said she plans on supporting a teacher stipend program that would supplement the salaries of preschool and child care providers and help retain Hawaii’s early learning workforce. Funding For Schools In Flux

But legislators also recognize that the economic consequences of the Maui wildfires could put an additional strain on DOE’s budget for the upcoming fiscal year.

“Things look pretty grim,” Perruso said, adding that the federal Covid-19 relief funds that have helped address chronic absenteeism and learning loss are set to expire in September.

In response, Perruso plans to introduce a constitutional amendment that would place a property tax surcharge on non-owner occupied homes valued over $3 million. The resulting revenue would go toward public education, Perruso said, adding that she’s “very hopeful” the proposal will pass through the Legislature and receive voter support.

With DOE’s recent proposal to lapse $465 million in school facilities funds raising scrutiny and concern in the Legislature, school leaders need to reconsider how they’re prioritizing the construction and completion of its facilities projects, Richards said.

But, he said, schools are still in need of funding that can go toward campus repairs, adding that he’s not happy with the level of maintenance schools in his district are currently receiving. Roughly 20% of Hawaii schools are over a century old, and the department has approximately 180 ongoing school construction projects.

Ultimately, Woodson said, the question remains if the state is providing adequate funding to meet schools’ needs, particularly when it comes to the staffing and basic upkeep of campuses.

“I think we are not,” Woodson said.

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January 5, 2024

HIDOE recognizes 2 schools for excellence in civic education and prioritizing student agency

​The Hawaiʻi State Department of Education is proud to announce and celebrate two high schools — Mililani and Maui High — that have been recognized as the first-ever Hawaiʻi Schools of Democracy.

The Hawaiʻi Schools of Democracy initiative recognizes high schools that demonstrate a commitment to diverse learning opportunities and fostering an organizational culture that emphasizes identity, student agency and culturally relevant experiences. The program celebrates institutions like Mililani High and Maui High that go above and beyond to shape the next generation of informed and engaged citizens.

Mililani High School students

Mililani High School was recognized today at a ceremony with area lawmakers, Hawaiʻi State Board of Education members, HIDOE leadership, as well as Mililani High school faculty, teachers and students. Maui High was recognized Jan. 8.

“What we see at Mililani High School is a lot of interdisciplinary connection and in particular, a real emphasis on helping our students become active members of the community,” said state Rep. Amy Perruso, who serves on the Commission to Promote and Advance Civic Education (PACE Commission). “For me that has always been the most important thing — is to make sure that youth voices are heard and centered in our processes.”

Mililani High was recognized for its comprehensive social studies framework for curriculum, pioneering the Advanced Placement (AP) African American Studies program, and offering a robust range of activities that promote community engagement and civic responsibility for students.

Group photo with Hawaii Schools of Democracy

“We are so proud of the Mililani High School teachers and students,” Superintendent Keith Hayashi added. “The commitment that you embrace with passion and purpose to ensure that our students here at Mililani embrace the values of being globally competitive and locally committed… really speaks volumes to the work that the Department is so committed to.”

State Senate Vice President Michelle Kidani, who is also chairperson of the Committee on Education and represents part of Mililani, sponsored a commemorative proclamation from the Senate to help mark the occasion. Superintendent Hayashi read parts of the proclamation on Sen. Kidani’s behalf before presenting it to the school.

State Rep. Lauren Matsumoto, a Mililani High alumna who represents parts of Mililani, also presented a proclamation on behalf of the House of Representatives.

Maui High was recognized for its achievement at a school ceremony attended by students, faculty, staff and other officials.

The Hawaiʻi Schools of Democracy initiative is a HIDOE program supported by the PACE Commission — a group created by the Judiciary in 2019 to help elevate civic engagement and education in Hawaiʻi. The selection panel for this recognition was composed of public school educators, PACE Commission members, and representatives from local organizations with civic and public missions.

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December 31, 2023

David Shapiro: Good efforts in 2023 give hope for new year

Photo of Rep. Perruso

Despite the official bumbling so prevalent here, there were players who stepped up with noble efforts in 2023 and are worth watching in the new year.

Here are some who caught my eye:

>> University of Hawaii President David Lassner. The longest-serving UH president in more than a half-century, Lassner announced he’ll retire at the end of 2024 after 10 years as president and 47 years of working for the university.

Lassner has handled the wrath of meddling state legislators and dealt with the university’s many other contentious stakeholders with fortitude and class, and promises to spend his final year promoting his vision of UH as a pathway to a better future for Hawaii’s youth and an economic driver for the state.

“I have always been clear that when either the (Board of Regents) or I decide it is time for me to step down, I want that to happen without acrimony, drama or lawyers,” he said.

Amen to that, and here’s hoping the regents have the fortitude to stand up to power-tripping legislators demanding that Lassner be forced out earlier and a president of their choosing installed.

>> State Reps. Amy Perruso, Elle Cochran and Jeanne Kapela. The three relative newcomers to the Legislature had the courage to stand up to Democratic leadership and denounce a state budget full of misplaced priorities that was rammed through at the last minute with even more secrecy than usual.

Perruso, Cochran and Kapela were eloquent in pointing out gross deficiencies in funding for education and the social safety net, as well as the lack of sunshine in the process. We can only hope it’s the beginning of a reform Democratic faction sorely needed in the absence of a functional local Republican Party.

>> City Councilman Augie Tulba. Some expected Tulba, a professional comedian, would be a loud showboat, but he’s been a diligent lawmaker who’s responsive to constituents and often displays common sense.

He was unsuccessful in his effort to stop the outrageous 64% pay raises for Council members from $68,904 to $113,000 pushed by Chairman Tommy Waters, but Tulba earned respect for making the good fight.

>> Natalie Iwasa. A certified public accountant by trade, Iwasa has distinguished herself as a model of citizen engagement.

She’s a constant presence at City Council meetings and a legislative appointee to the board of the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation. Her expansive knowledge of details keeps officials honest, and she’s a steady voice for transparency and accountability.

After two unsuccessful runs for the Council herself, she’s said, “One of the things that I wish were changed is the ability for corporations to have so much influence in our elections. If it were just people, I think it would be fair. It would level the playing field.”

>> John Mizuno. The longtime legislator, who’s been a leading voice for the underdogs and underserved in our community, is taking on a new role as Gov. Josh Green’s homeless coordinator.

With the heart he’s always shown during 17 years as a lawmaker and his extensive knowledge of state government, there’s hope he can make progress on a problem that has stymied four state administrations.

Click here to read more
November 30, 2023

How Hawaii students convinced schools to provide free menstrual products

It took many years of effort from students and advocates, but Hawaii is now one of nine states requiring public and charter schools to provide free menstrual products to students. Kate Nakamura from the PBS NewsHour Student Reporting Labs has the story.

Read the Full Transcript

Notice: Transcripts are machine and human generated and lightly edited for accuracy. They may contain errors.

Amna Nawaz:

It took years of effort by students and advocates, but Hawaii is now one of nine states requiring public and charter schools to provide free menstrual products for students.

Kate Nakamura from our Student Reporting Labs has the story.

Sarah Kern, Representative, Ma’i Movement Hawaii:

All the public places that we have access to as citizens, if there's toilet paper and soap stocked there, to me, there should also be period products stocked.

Kate Nakamura:

Not being able to afford menstrual products is known as period poverty. It's an issue of inequity that is familiar to teachers like Sarah Kern, who witnessed the issue while teaching at Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle School.

Sarah Kern:

I saw a lot of period poverty at our school. It was mostly indirect. There's a lot of students who would go to the health room to get their products, and that resulted in missing class time.

I personally and a lot of teachers would provide products to students, so I would always keep some in my desk.

Kate Nakamura:

Hawaii State Representative Amy Perruso has been advocating for period poverty since her former days of teaching.

State Rep. Amy Perruso (D-HI):

When we talk about, for example, Hawaii public schools, the vast majority of our menstruators live in fairly high-poverty communities and conditions.

Kate Nakamura:

It took several years of lobbying, but students and advocates celebrated a victory in June 2022, when legislation requiring the Hawaii Department of Education to provide free menstrual products in public and charter schools was signed by the governor.

Hawaii is now among nine states in the u.s to do so, according to the Alliance for Period Supplies. It's already making a difference to students like Breanne Battulayan, who attends Kauai High School.

Breanne Battulayan, Student:

The first time I saw it was in P.E., and I was like, oh, my gosh. Wait. I don't have to carry my big period bag everywhere. I literally just have a pad right there that I can just grab from the wall.

Kate Nakamura:

Kern, who serves as the Kauai representative for the Ma'i Movement, a nonprofit organization working to eliminate period poverty in Hawaii, in addition to teaching, says expansion of access to free menstrual products in other spaces in the community, such as university campuses, will benefit local menstruators.

Sarah Kern:

One of the next steps to getting period products more widely accessible throughout the state is definitely getting them free and accessible in the U.H. system, so the community colleges U.H. West Oahu, U.H. Manoa, U.H. Hilo, all of those campuses.

Kate Nakamura:

Representative Perruso, who supports this bill in the state House, knows that there are many challenges that come along with creating change.

State Rep. Amy Perruso:

I think that the most difficult obstacle is the education piece, because, sometimes, not always, but sometimes, legislators live in their own bubbles, right?

So — and that can affect the quality of their policymaking. So, if they are not actively seeking out young people and trying to identify the concerns of young people, and then working to address them, then they're never going to be engaging with young people.

Kate Nakamura:

For "PBS NewsHour" Student Reporting Labs, I'm Kate Nakamura in Lehua (ph), Hawaii.
April 6, 2023

Lawmakers Are Keeping Pressure On DOE For School Meal Plans

Farmers and ranchers see an opportunity for ongoing collaboration.
For more, click here.
April 5, 2023

Lawmakers Are Keeping Pressure On DOE For School Meal Plans

House lawmakers are grilling the Department of Education for substantive detail on its plans for the school food system.

Senate and House lawmakers introduced concurrent resolutions this session requesting more information from DOE, particularly on how a proposed $35 million centralized kitchen in Wahiawa will help the department reach the target of 30% local food spending by 2030, as mandated in Acts 175 and 176 of 2021.
Lawmakers Are Keeping Pressure On DOE For School Meal Plans
March 29, 2023

Bills to transform Hawaii's school meals die in Senate

A handful of well- supported bills to transform student meals in Hawaii's public schools appears to be dead for this legislative session.

The bills aimed to provide cheaper and more locally sourced meals to the nearly 170,000 public and charter school students in Hawaii, although all appear to have been blocked in the state Senate Committee on Education.

A group of related bills, House Bills 247, 248, 249 and 250, would have addressed the various roadblocks to the DOE's Farm to School program, which was established within the state Department of Education in 2021 but is off to a slow start. House Bill 540 would have provided free meals to all enrolled public and charter school students during every school day.

The Senate's Education Committee deferred HB 247 March 20 and HB 540 on March 22. The other bills reportedly won't be scheduled for a hearing, effectively killing them for the session.

HB 247 would have required some state departments to procure 30% of their food locally by 2030 and require better reporting on the status of those goals. The 30% goal represents an increase for most of those departments, but it's been a requirement for the DOE since the signing of Act 175 in 2021.

Still, Sen. Michelle Kidani (D, Mililani Town-Waipio Gentry- Royal Kunia), Education Committee chair, decided to defer HB 247.

She said that there isn't enough time for the DOE — sometimes referred to as the state's largest restaurant because it serves about 100,000 meals per day — to source that much food locally by 2030.

"My dilemma is, I totally support the idea, but to ask the biggest restaurant in the state of Hawaii … I don't know how you could do that in seven years," Kidani told the DOE during the hearing for HB 247."My recommendation is going to be to defer, because this is such a big issue, and I don't think we've given you the proper amount of time."

The DOE reported that only 6.2% of the food it serves is sourced locally, and more than half of that is beef.

Kidani, who did not reply to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser for comment for this story, then deferred HB 540 during a committee hearing March 22 after concerns were raised about how much the free meals would cost the state.

The DOE said in testimony that at its current 50% lunch participation rate at Hawaii public schools, HB 540 would cost $63.8 million Opens in a new tab. It said that if participation jumped to 75%, that cost would more than double to $137.9 million.

Sen. Donna Mercado Kim (D, Kalihi-Fort Shafter-Red Hill), the committee's vice chair, was concerned about the cost of the bill. She said the DOE's list of needs is long and that funding something like universal lunches would come at the cost of another need.

"Everybody comes in to speak on different bills that cost money, but when you look at the broad picture…there's concerns about having kids with all the school supplies that they need, having the transportation for our kids to get to the school," Kim said at the hearing. "Preschool, early education, early college, air conditioning in the classrooms — there's a lot of need…Should food be at the top of the list?"

Kim did not reply to a request for comment from the Star-Advertiser.

Most of those costs would fall on the state, said Randall Tanaka, assistant superintendent for DOE's Office of Facilities and Operations, during a hearing.

"There is evidence that a well-fed child is more productive, and the name of our game is to get them where they're well educated, they can critically think, and food is a critical part," he said. "It's a tough economic decision…I don't have an answer for that. I don't envy your positions for making this thing work."

The Education Department's cost estimate for HB 540 was significantly higher than the estimated $19 million-$44 million range that Hawaii Appleseed and other local organizations reported the free meals would cost the state, and this cost is anticipated to drop in 2024 following the U.S. Department of Agriculture's temporary reimbursement rate hike for operators of child nutrition programs in Hawaii.

The department said in an email statement to the Star-Advertiser, "Based on the total plate cost, including food, labor, and operations, minus the federal reimbursement, (the DOE) needs at least ($63.8 million) to fund this legislation at the current meal participation volume."

All the bills followed a similar trajectory: They originated in the House of Representatives, were supported heavily by the public and advocates for local agriculture and anti-hunger initiatives, and were opposed primarily by the DOE, which usually said the bills were difficult to implement, expensive or both.

Similarly, while Kidani and Kim both said they supported the ideas behind the deferred bills, they raised concerns about their practicality.

The death of the bills is a blow to those pointing to high rates of hunger among Hawaii's kids that aren't being addressed by current programs to properly feed them. Although nearly 1 in 3 children in Hawaii were food-insecure in 2020, according to a Feeding America report, fewer than 40% of Hawaii students who qualify for the national School Breakfast Program participated in it — the worst participation rate in the country.

Free and price-reduced lunches are already available for qualified students under the federal National School Lunch Program, but the income thresholds for the program omit families in Hawaii that earn too much for federal standards but not enough to live in Hawaii, where the cost of living is among the highest in the nation.

As many as 15,000 so-called "gap" students each year don't qualify for the program, but still struggle with food insecurity, the DOE reported.

Killing a bill like HB 540 based on cost alone is problematic, said Dennis Chase, program manager of the Hawaii Farm to School Hui.

"Many of the legislators and many of the people in the DOE are looking at it as one number, the percentage of the budget spent on locally grown or raised food, and how do we increase that one number by making as few changes as possible to the rest of our operation?" Chase said.

"I think Farm to School specifically — and food systems and food security in Hawaii in general — is so much bigger, so much wider than just that one number," he added.

Proponents of the DOE's Farm to School program hope it will provide healthier and more locally produced food to kids while also giving the state's smallest farmers a consistent market to sell their produce.

Tanaka and the DOE have shown little interest in the program and have pushed the construction of centralized kitchens to feed students and reach the DOE's 30% local food procurement goal by 2030.

Why Kidani has not scheduled hearings for the other Farm to School bills is unclear, but some suggest that the Senate's members trust in the DOE's leadership on an issue that they didn't prioritize this session.

"My sense was that there wasn't a lot of energy focused on that. … Maybe they just don't think food security is a priority," said Rep. Amy Perruso (D, Wahiawa-Whitmore Village- Mokuleia), primary author of the Farm to School bills. "I didn't really hear an explanation from them during the hearing about why they're not hearing the other bills."

The department, meanwhile, for years has been a source of frustration for local farming and healthy-food advocates as well as key lawmakers in the House like Perruso.

Perruso, other House members and advocates have repeatedly asked Tanaka and the DOE as a whole to communicate better with them, to publicly release detailed plans to reach their local food procurement goals and data on their progress, although they say the department continues to leave them in the dark. For more, click here.

March 26, 2023

Editorial: Massive law-enforcement training center excessive

Where land is a precious commodity, as it is statewide and certainly on Oahu, decisions about how to use as much as 243 acres demand intense scrutiny.

Of all the possible uses for that much state-owned land on the Central Oahu plain — housing springs to mind, as well as agriculture — creating a massive, $315 million compound for first-responder training and technology surely must fall far down on the list.

Except, it doesn't. There has been now a years-long push for what's been dubbed the the First Responder Technology Campus on that much acreage near Mililani that would house operations and training facilities for 19 federal, state and county agencies.

The campus is vastly oversized, with every bell and whistle, including those that are plainly excessive. This is a time when the state needs to reinvest in the maintenance of its existing infrastructure (think: Hawai'i Convention Center), and there are many other higher-priority and expensive new projects in the mill.

Instead, the campus conceptual plan includes, in addition to training facilities, an auditorium, retail space, fitness center, apartments, a cafeteria with kitchen staff, a community center and a 150-bed hotel.

Preposterous.

Arguably some of the client agencies, such as the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, need a new site and could be provided that home on part of the land, which the state purchased from developer Castle & Cooke in 2017. This could proceed as a project right-sized to fit actual needs and requirements. The Office of Enterprise Technology Services manages data servers in a flood-prone basement that could use a relocation, to name another example.

But that's not what's proposed here. The completed campus is envisioned as costing from $315 million to $470 million, to be built out over 15 years in six phases. This session, the state Senate has taken the opportunity of a state budgetary surplus to support locking in $100 million for it now.

However, the state lacks commitment to the plan from all of the agencies that its official sponsor, the Hawaii Technology Development Corp., wants to put there. The Honolulu Police Department, most notably, is flatly unwilling to pledge its own resources to the project.

Fortunately, there's now some significant pushback from the state House on this idea, which last week was moving through the chamber as Senate Bill 1469. First the Water and Land Committee crossed out the $100 million, leaving the amount blank but suggesting that the House Finance Committee consider allotting only half as much.

Even more forcefully, state Rep. Amy Perruso, who chairs the Higher Education and Technology Committee and took custody of the measure next, decided to call the whole thing off. Friday was the "second lateral" deadline, when all bills being heard by more than one committee must move to the last one — the Finance panel, in this case. Perruso held it instead, rightly.

While the bill itself appears to be dead for the session, the plan could still advance if one of its key supporters in Senate leadership — including the Ways and Means Committee chair, state Sen. Donovan Dela Cruz — gets the money inserted into the overall state budget, moving separately.

Ironically, both Dela Cruz and Perruso represent the area proposed for the campus, advocating for opposite ends. Their constituents need to make their concerns known.

Perruso has reached the correct conclusion. There's too much unsettled about this whole scheme to make this kind of investment. An environmental impact statement has been published but, Perruso said, the state Land Use Commission hasn't flashed any green lights. The acreage is still zoned for agriculture, and would need reclassification by the LUC.

"It's really 'cart before the horse,'"she said Friday in an interview with the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.

Of course, stopping the whole horse-and-cart combo in its tracks would be the best outcome, or at least scaling it down drastically.

Then the cost of fitting the property with the needed utility hookups and service road, the main purpose of the $100 million being sought, might be a lot less, Perruso said. She pointed to a 2021 alternative site study identifying locations with more of the infrastructure in place.

At the House Water and Land Committee hearing, HPD Maj. Stephen Silva voiced "concerns" about HPD's lack of funding to pay its share for the infrastructure and upkeep of the campus; further, it already has the "training facility, indoor firing range, emergency vehicle operation training track, helicopter hangar and technology storage facilities this bill proposes to create."

So, what's the point of this, again?

The EIS argues, weakly, that developing separate projects as needed would cost more in cash and effort and provide fewer jobs, and that delay will mean continued deterioration of aging facilities. Nonsense. The state could step up instead and do the needed upgrades, and at a more rational scale.

The state is flush with cash now, but that won't last long. Critical improvements deserve the funding now. This technology-campus boondoggle? It is not what Hawaii needs. For more, click here.

March 24, 2023

Call 911: The First Responders Park Bill Is Dying

Rep. Amy Perruso says she won't advance a bill to fund the state's first responders campus amid questions about the project's relevance. For more, click here.

March 1, 2023

Bills to improve DOE's Farm to School program moving forward

A host of bills moving through the state Legislature represent the latest effort in an ongoing movement to bring healthier, locally sourced meals to Hawaii's public schools.

So far the measures have received waves of support — except from the state's public school system.

Under Act 175, which became law in 2021, the state Department of Education is required by 2030 to locally source 30% of the food it serves at Hawaii's public schools, and to implement what's known as the Farm to School program to improve the health of the state's children while supporting local farmers.

This year state lawmakers, supporters of farming and anti-hunger advocates hope to expedite Farm to School, centering their efforts around House Bills 247 Opens in a new tab, 248 Opens in a new tab, 249 Opens in a new tab and 250 Opens in a new tab — all co-introduced by Rep. Amy Perruso (D, Wahiawa-Whitmore Village-Mokuleia).

"The idea behind this suite of bills is to provide the department with the support they need," Perruso said in an interview with the Honolulu Star-­Advertiser.

"The intent is to get more local, fresh, healthy, nutritional food on our kids' plates," said Perruso.

The bills aim to tackle a swath of problems with Farm to School, and would include increasing the percentage of local food that the DOE has to purchase; decentralizing the Farm to School program to give complex-area superintendents more control over it; separating the Hawaii Child Nutrition Programs Agency from the DOE and giving the agency more of the Farm to School workload; and incorporating a federal "geographic preference" for food procurement within the DOE.

The first two annual Farm to School reports by the DOE to the state Legislature didn't show much progress made in the program since its launch.

The department was rebuked for submitting a vague, two-page report to lawmakers prior to the 2022 session with no data on the program or a plan going forward. This year the department submitted a three-page report to the state Legislature that was viewed as a marginal improvement but was still light on details about how the DOE will reach its mandated "30 by 30" goal.

This year's report did note that 6.2% of the department's purchased food was locally sourced in 2022. It also listed a lack of consistent supply of locally grown food, the cost of that food, and inadequate cafeteria staff training as challenges to the Farm to School program.

Some of the reporting issues could be alleviated under HB 247, which would, in part, expand reporting requirements of the DOE and other state departments with local food procurement goals. It also establishes a farm-to-state liaison in the governor's office to "facilitate with reporting requirements and procurement of locally grown food."

The DOE has been resistant to the proposed decentralization of school kitchens that the Farm to School program and the bills going through the state Legislature this year would bring.

Instead, the department has been committed to building centralized kitchens to feed students, although it hasn't provided much clarity to lawmakers about how its own plans will provide healthier, locally produced food to students.

Randall Tanaka, assistant superintendent for DOE's Office of Facilities and Operations and lead for the Farm to School program, said Thursday during a House Committee on Finance hearing on HB 248 that it will take 2-1/2 years to finish a $35 million-$40 million centralized kitchen in Wahiawa. Tanaka hasn't, however, offered a clear picture of how the kitchen will help the DOE reach its Act 175 goals.

Lawmakers and advocates alike have said that a lack of communication about what the DOE is doing or what it needs is preventing them from assisting.

Perruso, in a House Committee on Education hearing for HB 248 on Feb. 9, said she has never received a plan from Tanaka about the centralized kitchens and the DOE's Farm to School plan and was "pleading" with him to provide one.

"There are so many really dedicated advocates working on this issue. They're just waiting to support your work, but it's a mystery as to the direction that you're headed," Perruso told him.

In her interview with the Star-Advertiser on Saturday, Perruso said she had yet to receive a plan from the DOE.

The DOE, in a response to the Star-Advertiser, did not provide a plan about its centralized kitchens, saying in an email that "the centralized kitchen concept is only in the early planning stages, so there are no construction timetables yet."

Act 175 also established within the DOE a Farm to School coordinator — an employee dedicated to facilitating the program. Tanaka said he hasn’t filled that position since it was established in 2021 because the department still needs to rework the job description.

"We're redefining what that role is. My goal is to have that person as the food buyer," Tanaka said Thursday during a House Committee on Finance hearing for HB 248.

But the stall in hiring has been problematic, and HB 249 would attempt to address that by establishing Farm to School positions and moving some of the program work within the Hawaii Child Nutrition Programs Agency and away from the DOE.

Testimony for the bills through the first five weeks of the session have been largely supportive. Hundreds of pages of written testimony, from advocates of anti-hunger policies to farming organizations to health-focused groups, show they want the measures to move forward.

The general belief is that they would be good for students and give small farms in Hawaii an opportunity to sell their fruit and vegetables to individual DOE schools. The department as a whole serves more than 100,000 meals per day and is sometimes referred to as the state's biggest restaurant.

The DOE's centralized kitchen plan would favor Hawaii's biggest farms because centralization works better with growers of large quantities of produce, opponents say.

"The central kitchens don't preclude us from reaching the goal of 30% — they kind of emphasize a different way of doing it," said Dennis Chase, program manager of the Hawaii Farm to School Hui." The biggest farms in the state will get those contracts...Other farms, even if they have the desire or they want to be involved, there's a lot of infrastructure they would need before they can do that."

The DOE has expressed concern over the proposed measures.

For HB 248, it said in written testimony that decentralizing the Farm to School program would be burdensome to complex-area superintendents, and for HB 249 it said the concern is about unforeseen impacts to federal funding that could come from moving the Hawaii Child Nutrition Programs Agency away from the DOE.

It is also said that purchasing from the smallest farms in Hawaii would be more expensive and would prove a challenge when it comes to food safety requirements.

Tanaka said small, local farms are also difficult to rely on when it comes to consistently providing large quantities of produce to individual schools, an argument the DOE made against both HB 247 and 249.

"That's why we're working on the centralized kitchen," Tanaka told lawmakers at Thursday's hearing on HB 248. "Independent purchasing does not give us the consistency of purchasing across the board."

But advocates say the DOE needs to provide a list of needs first, and farmers can scale up from there.

Hawaii Farm Bureau's Executive Director Brian Miyamoto, during the hearing, said, "We want to know what the DOE would like our farmers to grow so they can scale up, so they can plan."

Matt Johnson, CEO of the Oahu Fresh Food Hub, said approved contracts for food need to be in place before farmers will be interested. Otherwise it's too risky for them.

"Farms have to put all the investment upfront — they have to buy the seeds, they have to prepare the land — so all the liability is on the farm," he told the Star-­Advertiser.

Other Farm to School advocates have refuted the DOE's argument that local farmers can't supply enough fruit and vegetables to meet its needs, saying instead that local farmers are producing more than enough.

Perruso said the future of the DOE's Farm to School program doesn't have to consist of strictly decentralized or centralized kitchens, but it needs to be decided using good policies, transparency and evidence-­based approaches.

HB 248 and 250 were heard and passed the House Committee on Finance last week. HB 247 and 249 have been scheduled for a Thursday hearing by the committee, which they need to pass through this week in order to continue on. For more, click here.

February 3, 2023

Want To Give Our Kids A Future? Change The Way We Tax Wealth

Enhanced revenue should come from those who can afford to pay more including large corporations and out-of-state investors. For more, click here.

January 25, 2023

Rep. Amy Perruso: Don't Underestimate How Important Reform Is To The Public

This lawmaker hopes citizens will seize the moment and testify in support of dozens of measures to make state government more transparent and accountable. Click here to view the full article.

January 23, 2023

Rep. Amy Perruso: Don't Underestimate How Important Reform Is To The Public

This lawmaker hopes citizens will seize the moment and testify in support of dozens of measures to make state government more transparent and accountable. For more, click here.

May 6, 2022

Rep. Amy Perruso: A Vision For Feeding Hawaii

Food touches the environment, economy, public health, community well-being and so much more. For more, click here.

February 19, 2021

Embattled Agribusiness Corporation has powerful friends



Perusso pointed out that the ADC is not merely an obscure entity attached to the Department of Agriculture. The corporation has the power to acquire and develop lands for agriculture, and to that end the Legislature in recent years has appropriated more than a quarter of a billion dollars to the ADC, including about $23.4 million for operations and $238 million for capital investments. Despite such large investments, it has been difficult for lawmakers and the public to see how the money has been spent and how well the corporation has been fulfilling its mission. Read more: Click here.

September 29, 2020

Ongoing Controversy About Reopening Schools



Much has fluctuated in the last six months. But as tensions flare over the best instructional model during a pandemic and scrutiny mounts over what some call“unclear, inconsistent" policies issued by state education leaders, the question remains: did the state Department of Education do all that it could to smartly plan for the transition from spring to fall? Included in the guidance is a chart indicating when it is safe to bring elementary or secondary students back to school based on the number of cases per 10,000 people over a 14-day period. Already, the metrics are drawing fierce pushback [citing article written by Rep. Perruso) from educators and union officials. For more: Click here.


September 7, 2020

New Agency Will Take Over Public School Construction in Hawaii



The bill passed with near unanimous support at the Legislature, with just one dissenting vote in the House, from Rep. Amy Perruso, (D, Wahiawa-Whitmore Village), a veteran public school teacher. "This is just one more effort to privatize the public sphere," Perruso said Wednesday. "I feel like we have gutted public agencies, defunded them since 2008 or even earlier, and then we're surprised when they can't do their jobs." For more: Click here.


September 7, 2020

Hawaii DOE's Distance Learning Tool 'Very, Very Questionable’



The comments are included in an internal DOE document entitled "HIDOE Online Content Review" that was shared in a Facebook post Sunday by state Rep. Amy Perruso, a longtime educator. "It seems to me, as someone who has participated in curriculum and standards review processes, that this is not a thorough vetting (the specialists only look at a few select lessons in specific elementary courses) AND that the feedback provided to the superintendent in no way recommended adoption," Perruso stated in the post. For more: Click here.


September 7, 2020

Lawmakers, Union Officials Are Pushing Back Against State Pay Cuts



Lawmakers who work on education issues are also concerned about cuts to teacher and staff pay. House Rep. Amy Perruso, a teacher at Mililani High who represents Wahiawa, said this move was " really premature" and reflected "unbelievably poor leadership." "It's just ridiculous, unless their intention is to actually gut state government," she said. "I don't think they really have a sense of what our financial situation will look like. We haven't seen all those monies flow into state coffers yet." For more: Click here.


September 6, 2020

Military Won't Say How Many Coronavirus Cases in Hawaii



On March 21, when U.S. Army Hawaii had four positive COVID-19 cases, the command emphasized during its nightly Facebook "town hall" update its intent to "continue to be as transparent as possible." There is a growing call for a return to greater transparency based on the need to address COVID-19 comprehensively. The Hawaii military numbers should be made public "because that's how we're quantifying what we're doing," said state Rep. Amy Perruso."That's how we're looking at the curve — and if their (military) curve is spiking, we need to know that. It's not fair to leave us in the dark about the impact" that the..


September 6, 2020

DOE Will Increase Meals To Meet High Demand



DOE officials acknowledge meal shortages at some sites. New sites will help alleviate that, they said.

The Hawaii Department of Education is adding three more school meal distribution sites to its regular rotation next week to meet rising demand during extended school closures due to coronavirus. Starting Monday, Ka'ala Elementary and Kipapa Elementary on Oahu and Lokelani Elementary on Maui will serve free breakfast and lunch to kids 18 and under, bringing the number of school sites serving free meals to kids to 41 from 38. For more: Click here.


September 7, 2020

Community Groups Offer Free Lunch To Kids



The grab-and-go meals at a handful of sites around Oahu are supplementing the DOE's own meal service which began this week while schools are closed. Several nonprofits and child advocacy organizations banded together to offer free lunches to kids 18 and under during this time of unplanned school closures because of the coronavirus outbreak.Some are worried the DOE-distributed free breakfasts and meals are not enough. On Tuesday morning, House Rep. Amy Perruso posted on her Facebook page that Leilehua High in Wahiawa "looked like it was going to run out of food for the second day in a row." "We know we have kids in Lakeview Circle and Whitmore who will not be able to walk in rain for school meal," she wrote."We need to figure out how to serve the most vulnerable."


September 5, 2020

State Faces More Challenges Clearing Mass Dumping Ground in Wahiawa



Ken Nakamoto "received reports that individuals are entering on foot through remote areas of the 230 acre parcel. They are mainly looking for anything of value that they can salvage." "It's also my understanding that people are continuing to try to go back onto the property to try to get back cars that may still be running," Perruso explained. Perruso said she's not surprised people keep going back. "I think it's understandable that for some period of time we're going to have some struggles around that. It's not a once and done situation." For more: Click here


September 5, 2020

Movement Aimed to Change Political Landscape to a Future Rooted in Aloha Aina



State Representative Amy Perruso says she is inspired by their message. She introduced legislation last session that would put a moratorium on development on Mauna Kea higher than 6,000 feet, which would also halt the Thirty Meter Telescope. "To stop and take stock of what we're doing and to really reconsider whether this is the wisest way we want to move forward with our very precious lands," Representative Amy Perruso said. The bill is still on the table this year, but it won't move forward unless it's scheduled for a hearing. That is why Perruso says it's important for people in the movement to keep up the pressure. For more: Click here

May 8, 2019

Wahiawa General Hospital to Launch ‘Stabilization Program’ for Mental Health



Wahiawa General Hospital is teaming up with the state to offer mental health servivces to high-needs patients, especially the close to 600 homeless people suffering from severe mental illness across the Hawai'i. Hundreds more are struggling with substance addiction.

The hospital is planning to repurpose unused space on its second floor for the program, creating around 40 beds for people in need of mental health and substance abuse treatment. Advocates hope the program will deliver the mental health and addicition services that houseless individuals and families need to obtain permanent shelter and financial security.

For more, see: STABILIZATION PROGRAM.

March 29, 2019

Whitmore Community Food Hub Complex Enviromental Assessment Is Open For Comment

A Draft Environmental Assessment (DEA) for the Whitmore Community Food Hub Complex has been prepared pursuant to the State of Hawai‘i EIS law (Hawai‘i Revised Statutes, Chapter 343) and the State of Hawai‘i EIS rules (Hawai‘i Administrative Rules, Title 11, Chapter 200).

To submit a comment regarding the Whitmore Community Food Hub Complex, please provide your contact information and enter comments at the link below. Contact information is necessary to ensure that you receive a response to your feedback. Comments are due by April 22, 2019.

Read the Whitmore Community Food Hub Complex DEA: CLICK LINK.
Comment on the DEA: CLICK LINK.

March 27, 2019

Rep. Amy Perruso Supports Hotel Workers Call for Respect From Management

DoubleTree by Hilton Alana Waikiki Beach hotel workers organized a public action in their hotel lobby in early March, demanding respect from management, safe workloads, and a fair process to decide whether to unionize.

Rep. Amy Perruso, a long labor leader, said, "I think all workers have the right to unionize and are better off if they’re unionized. It’s important to me that there be a fair process for these workers to decide whether to unionize, that there not be any retaliation against the workers. The community is committed to making sure that all workers are fairly supported,” said State Representative Amy Perruso."

See here for more: Hotel Workers.

November 27, 2018

Climate Action Plan Public Meeting Series (Central O'ahu)

The Office of Climate Change, Sustainability and Resiliency invite you to the Climate Action Plan Public Meeting Series (Central O'ahu) on Wednesday, December 12, 7:00pm at the Mililani High School Cafeteria. For more information visit: https://bit.ly/2FGOw2n.

Hurricane Lane and Olivia show that climate change is already having profound impacts on O'ahu and we need to chart a new path.What is your vision for a resilient, fossil fuel free future for our island?

We invite you to learn about O'ahu's first climate action plan, engage in a "game" that helps kick-start a discussion about how best to cut our emissions, and chart the next steps for our island.
2025 Committee Member of
 Measures Introduced in 2025
Measure and Title
HB56
RELATING TO INJURIOUS MATERIALS.
HB57
RELATING TO THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION.
HB59
RELATING TO DISABLED VETERANS.
HB60
RELATING TO JUVENILE JUSTICE.
HB61
RELATING TO CORONERS.
HB62
RELATING TO HEALTHCARE FACILITY NURSE STAFFING.
HB63
RELATING TO EDUCATION.
HB64
RELATING TO ELECTRIC BICYCLES.
HB85
RELATING TO THE LAND CONSERVATION FUND.
HB86
RELATING TO THE DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES.
HB87
RELATING TO SCHOOL MEALS.
HB88
RELATING TO STUDENT ATHLETES.
HB89
RELATING TO TEACHER HOUSING.
HB91
RELATING TO HIGHER EDUCATION.
HB98
RELATING TO AUTHENTIC ASSESSMENTS.
HB99
RELATING TO CLIMATE EDUCATION.
HB100
RELATING TO MEDIA LITERACY.
HB103
RELATING TO SENTENCING.
HB104
RELATING TO CANDIDATES.
HB106
RELATING TO CONDOMINIUMS.
HB125
RELATING TO FIREARMS.
HB126
RELATING TO PROPERTY FORFEITURE.
HB127
RELATING TO PRETRIAL RELEASE.
HB128
RELATING TO CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM.
HB129
RELATING TO YOUTH FEES AND FINES.
HB130
RELATING TO FEES FOR PUBLIC RECORDS UNDER CHAPTER 92F.
HB131
RELATING TO RESEARCH.
HB132
RELATING TO EXPUNGEMENT.
HB133
RELATING TO SURFING.
HB139
RELATING TO INSURANCE.
HB145
RELATING TO EXPUNGEMENT.
HB146
RELATING TO THE JUDICIARY'S ‘ŌLELO HAWAI‘I INITIATIVES.
HB148
RELATING TO DEFAMATION.
HB149
RELATING TO CORPORATIONS.
HB150
RELATING TO FIREARMS.
HB151
RELATING TO REDRESS FOR WRONGFUL CONVICTION AND IMPRISONMENT.
HB175
RELATING TO PROPERTY MAINTENANCE.
HB176
RELATING TO DOMESTIC ABUSE PROTECTIVE ORDERS.
HB177
RELATING TO CIVIL IDENTIFICATION CARDS.
HB178
RELATING TO AGRICULTURE.
HB179
RELATING TO INCOME TAX.
HB180
RELATING TO GENERAL EXCISE TAX EXEMPTIONS.
HB182
RELATING TO THE EARNED INCOME TAX CREDIT.
HB183
RELATING TO THE EARNED INCOME TAX CREDIT.
HB184
RELATING TO ELECTRIC BICYCLES.
HB185
RELATING TO CARE HOMES.
HB189
RELATING TO AGRICULTURAL TOURISM.
HB190
RELATING TO DECENTRALIZATION OF DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FARM TO SCHOOL.
HB191
RELATING TO DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FARM TO SCHOOL PROCUREMENT.
HB192
RELATING TO FOREIGN OWNERSHIP OF AGRICULTURAL LAND.
HB193
RELATING TO THE RIGHT TO FARM.
HB194
RELATING TO MARITIME DAY.
HB195
RELATING TO HISTORIC PRESERVATION.
HB196
RELATING TO PORT WORKERS.
HB206
RELATING TO THE HAWAIIAN LANGUAGE.
HB209
RELATING TO WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT.
HB211
RELATING TO STREAM MAINTENANCE.
HB213
RELATING TO LOAN REPAYMENT FOR HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS.
HB218
RELATING TO HOSPITALS.