Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Education and Military Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 1661 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to appropriate funds to assist in the further implementation of Act 51, Session Laws of Hawaii 2004 and allow the Department of Education to carry over unencumbered appropriations.

Testimony in support of the measure was submitted by the Department of Education, Department of Human Resources Development, Hawaii Government Employees Association, and Hawaii Business Roundtable.

Your Committee finds that to continue to successfully implement Act 51, Session Laws of Hawaii 2004, appropriations are needed to subsidize the Department of Education information systems projects and provide additional support personnel and training. In comparing other public school districts spending on information technology infrastructure, your Committee found Seattle spending $304 per student and Wisconsin $309 per student, while Hawaii's projected technology budget is merely $157 per student. The additional funding along with the added personnel is sorely needed to implement and operationally support the new applications of Act 51.

Upon further consideration, your Committee has amended this measure to specify the additional personnel needed.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Education and Military Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1661, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1661, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.