HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

226

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2004

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

requesting THE Department Of Education, Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism, AND THE FEDERAL Department of Defense to find means of RECTIFYING the shortfall in impact aid due the department of education.

 

WHEREAS, a 2004 national report card issued by Education Week, American education's online newspaper of record, noted that, in Hawaii, only 23% of 4th graders were proficient or above in math, 17% of 8th graders were proficient or above in math, 21% of 4th graders were proficient or above in reading, and 22% of 8th graders were proficient or above in reading; and

WHEREAS, Education Week in the same report card also graded Hawaii's public schools a C+ for standards and accountability, D+ for teacher quality, and C for school climate; and

WHEREAS, many such sobering evaluations of Hawaii's public schools consistently place Hawaii near the bottom of the United States in terms of academic achievement and the factors that go into facilitating that achievement; and

WHEREAS, one reason for these perennial shortcomings may be due to shortcomings in the adequacy of resources, for which Hawaii received a C in Education Week's report card; and

WHEREAS, one of the most significant reasons for inadequate resources is that the State of Hawaii is losing a considerable amount of federal funding for dependents of people serving in the military who are enrolled in Department of Education schools; and

WHEREAS, these military dependents are in Hawaii because Hawaii's unique geographical position makes it strategically important to the mainland United States as a means of force projection into the Asia-Pacific theater; and

WHEREAS, according to a report by the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism, in the year 2000 there were 40,796 military members and 42,533 military dependents for a total military related population of 83,329 in Hawaii; and

WHEREAS, there were 28,276 military dependents enrolled in Department of Education schools during the fiscal year 2002-2003; and

WHEREAS, eight Hawaii public schools have over ninety percent military dependents, twenty-four others have over thirty percent, and forty-one others have ten percent or more; and

WHEREAS, these students are transient and cannot reasonably be expected to provide a return on the State of Hawaii's investment in their education; and

WHEREAS, the cost of educating military dependents in fiscal year 2002-2003 was $236,811,500, yet the Federal Impact Aid was $48,799,312, leaving a difference of $188,012,188 that the State of Hawaii had to absorb; and

WHEREAS, the annual budget for the Department of Education for fiscal year 2002-2003 was $1,301,030,794; and

WHEREAS, if the uncollected impact aid of $188,012,188 available to the State of Hawaii had been collected it would have represented a 14% increase in the annual budget for the Department of Education for fiscal year 2002-2003; and

WHEREAS, the difference between the cost of educating military dependents and impact aid over the last decade has averaged between approximately $153 million and $209 million annually, with most years in excess of $170 million; and

WHEREAS, in addition to the lost impact aid, military personnel and their dependents also contribute far less in personal income tax and excise tax to the State of Hawaii; and

WHEREAS, collectively, impact aid, income tax, and excise tax could all be put to effective use to serving the academic and developmental needs of the students of the State of Hawaii; and

WHEREAS, receipt of such funding could also free resources to address other critical areas of need within the public educational system; and

WHEREAS, the geographic location that makes Hawaii strategically important to the mainland United States also includes a distinct physical isolation that makes it difficult to foster many of the traditional types of economic development that traditional rely on easy transportation and proximity to markets; and

WHEREAS, this natural difficulty in fostering economic development has been further compounded by a stagnant tourist industry and nation-wide recession; and

WHEREAS, this difficulty in facilitating economic development and a depressed local economy mitigate against the State of Hawaii's overall ability to provide for the public education of military dependents; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-Second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2004, the Senate concurring, that the federal Department of Defense is requested to provide the State of Hawaii with a supplemental appropriation necessary to make up for the shortfall between the impact aid due the State of Hawaii and what it actually receives; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Hawaii's congressional delegation is requested to urge federal Department of Defense provision of this supplemental appropriation; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Education is requested to actively explore whether and under what circumstances the United States would consent to transfer highly federally-impacted public schools from the state Department of Education to the federal Department of Defense; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Hawaii's congressional delegation is requested to facilitate the Department of Education's exploration of this transfer; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Education is further requested to examine the feasibility and effectiveness of the State of Illinois' effort in 1992 to redraw the boundaries of educational districts to exclude military bases; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that, since the vast majority of military personnel and their dependents in Hawaii pay little state income and excise tax, the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism is requested to assess difference between the receipt of such revenue by the State of Hawaii from military personnel and their dependents, and non-military-related individuals in Hawaii; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Education and Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism are requested to report their findings to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of the Legislature of 2005; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the members of Hawaii's congressional delegation, the Director of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism, and the Superintendent of Education.

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title:

Federal Impact Aid for Public Education; Requesting Various Entities to Find Means of Addressing the Shortfall