HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	290
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2008
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

requesting the department of education to establish a pilot program to allow public school principals to use a debit card system for purchasing school supplies and other related curriculum support supplies.

     WHEREAS, our public schools have long faced a shortage of and inadequate funding for school supplies; and

     WHEREAS, the Legislature believes that providing purchasing power at the classroom level will help address the supplies problem; and

     WHEREAS, debit card systems, by allowing teachers to make specific purchases within a set dollar limit, would help to:

     (1)  Streamline the process for purchasing school and curriculum support supplies by shortening the wait time between ordering and obtaining a product and by eliminating the time lag for reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses; and

     (2)  Provide teachers with flexibility for their purchases, which would allow them to take advantage of school discounts and sales in the community; and

     (3)  Provide up-to-date spending information; and

     WHEREAS, banks are available to assist the Department of Education to establish debit card system accounts at little or no cost; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2008, the Senate concurring, that the Department of Education is requested to establish a pilot program under which a principal from each participating public school may establish and use a debit card system for the purpose of purchasing school supplies and other related curriculum support supplies by teachers; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Department of Education is requested to form a group consisting of one representative from the Department, one representative from the Hawaii State Teachers Association, and one public intermediate school teacher for the purpose of selecting three intermediate schools to participate in the pilot program; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Superintendent of Education and the Chairperson of the Board of Education.

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title: 

Requesting the Department of Education to establish a debit card system pilot project for purchasing school supplies.