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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES             H.R. NO.              
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                                
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                     HOUSE RESOLUTION

REQUESTING AN ANALYSIS OF CURRENT AND COMPARATIVE PATTERNS OF
   PUBLIC SCHOOL FINANCING.



 1       WHEREAS, proper funding and support for the statewide
 2   school system is essential for:
 3   
 4       (1)  The  State's economic development and well-being;
 5   
 6       (2)  The maintenance of our democratic form of government;
 7            and
 8   
 9       (3)  The overall success and well-being of its citizens; 
10   
11   and
12   
13       WHEREAS, recent statistics suggest that funding of Hawaii's
14   statewide school system may not be adequate to prepare Hawaii's
15   students to meet the challenges of the new millennium; and
16   
17       WHEREAS, in 1997, while in an economic "slump," Hawaii
18   still ranked third among the states in state general revenue
19   per capita, surpassed only by Alaska and Delaware, and second
20   only to Alaska in tax collections per capita; and
21   
22       WHEREAS, in 1998-1999 Hawaii's per pupil expenditure was
23   $5,569, placing Hawaii $838 below the U.S. average, in thirty-
24   seventh place among the 50 states and the District of Columbia;
25   and
26   
27       WHEREAS, the proportion of total direct general
28   expenditures of Hawaii's state and local governments for public
29   K-12 education was 14.3 percent in 1994-1995, placing Hawaii,
30   with respect to fiscal priority given to public education, last
31   among the 50 states; and
32   
33       WHEREAS, Hawaii's public schools are among the largest in
34   the nation, ranking fourth in average size for elementary
35   schools and second in average size for secondary schools; and

 
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 1       WHEREAS, Hawaii's chronic under-investment in educational
 2   facilities has resulted in a current backlog of $240,000,000 in
 3   vital repair and maintenance of school facilities and
 4   $1,500,000,000 in new facilities; and
 5   
 6       WHEREAS, past budgetary reductions and restrictions may
 7   have severely reduced the system's capacity to engage in
 8   sustained self-renewal and reform, including the capacity to
 9   maintain and continuously improve the school system's
10   standards-based and accountability reforms; and
11   
12       WHEREAS, over the six-year period 1994-2000, state and
13   district resources have been cut 39 percent by position count
14   and 41 percent by fiscal allocation, thus severely diminishing
15   the system's capacity to support schools in a number of
16   instructional and administrative areas; and
17   
18       WHEREAS, it is necessary to review agency funding and
19   questions of adequacy of school system funding to establish
20   sound fiscal policy; now, therefore,
21   
22       BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the
23   Twentieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session
24   of 2000, that the University of Hawaii is requested to conduct
25   a comprehensive analysis of Hawaii's ability to fund K-12
26   education, and its historical and its current commitment to
27   doing so, including the identification of potential peer states
28   and districts that share commonalities on key education,
29   demographic, and economic dimensions, such that potential peers
30   can be used for benchmarking and future comparative study; and
31   
32       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the analysis and results of the
33   study include recommended goals for levels of funding that
34   represent adequate funding targets; and
35   
36       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the University of Hawaii submit
37   a report of its findings and recommendations to the Legislature
38   not later than twenty days prior to the commencement of the
39   2001 legislative session; and
40   
41       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this
42   Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, the Chair of the
43   Board of Regents, the Chair of the Board of Education, the
44   President of the University of Hawaii, and the Superintendent
45   of Education.
46 
47 
48 
49                         OFFERED BY:  ____________________________