STAND. COM. REP. NO. 460

                                 Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                   , 1999

                                 RE: H.B. No. 318
                                     




Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say
Speaker, House of Representatives
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 1999
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Education, to which was referred H.B.
No. 318 entitled:

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT MAKING AN APPROPRIATION FOR ADDITIONAL
     SCHOOL CLERICAL POSITIONS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to appropriate funds to the
Department of Education for two hundred ninety-two full-time
equivalent (292.00 FTE), temporary, school clerical positions to
partially implement the recommendations of the 1990 school and
district office clerical staffing study.

     Your Committee finds that this figure represents the number
of clerk positions needed to bring all schools into compliance
with the recommended staffing standards for clerks, based on
projected enrollment figures for 1997.  This figure does not
include the number of clerk typist and account clerk positions
needed to bring all schools into compliance with the recommended
staffing standards for those positions.

     The Department of Education's 1990 school and district
office clerical staffing study concluded that an additional
429.50 full-time equivalent clerical positions would be needed to
bring all schools into compliance with the recommended school
clerical staffing standards.  The study also concluded that

 
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159.50 full-time equivalent clerical positions would be needed to
bring all schools into compliance with the recommended priority
staffing guidelines.  The priority guidelines were established in
recognition of the belief that creating an additional 429.50
full-time equivalent clerical positions was neither reasonable
nor attainable at the time.

     Since the foregoing numbers were based on enrollment figures
and the number of schools in 1990, it was understood that they
would be subject to immediate and constant change.  The
recommended school clerical staffing standards and priority
staffing guidelines, however, are still valid and can be used to
determine the number of additional clerical positions needed to
bring all schools into compliance with the recommended staffing
standards and priority guidelines.

     If the Department of Education's clerical shortage is not
alleviated in the near future, then problems relating to employee
morale; the recruitment and retention of clerical personnel; and
the effective and efficient utilization of administrative,
technical, professional, and paraprofessional school-level
personnel, will only worsen with time.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this bill
from the Department of Education, the Hawaii Government Employees
Association, the Hawaii School Office Services Association, the
Hawaii State Teachers Association, five school administrative
services assistants, and two individuals.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Education that is attached to this report, your
Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B.
No. 318 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be
referred to the Committee on Finance.

                                   Respectfully submitted on
                                   behalf of the members of the
                                   Committee on Education,



                                   ______________________________
                                   KEN ITO, Chair

 
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