HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	172
THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2024
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

requesting the auditor to conduct an audit of the department of education's statewide backlog of capital improvement repair and maintenance projects.

WHEREAS, the Department of Education is responsible for the repair and maintenance of 4,425 buildings statewide, which is more than twenty million square feet of space; and

WHEREAS, this is a time-consuming and financially-draining task as approximately twenty percent of Hawaii's two hundred fifty-seven public schools are more than one hundred years old, and the average age of school buildings in the State is seventy-two years; and

WHEREAS, properly repairing and maintaining public school buildings is necessary for the safety of Hawaii's students and teachers; and

WHEREAS, in January 2018, the Department of Education reported to the Legislature that the school repair and maintenance backlog was $293,000,000; and

WHEREAS, however, the Department of Education later redacted that statement, reporting that the true backlog was $868,000,000; and

WHEREAS, this backlog has sharply increased in the few past years and is now estimated to be more than $1,400,000,000, with more than four thousand six hundred repair and maintenance projects needed to be undertaken or finished by the Department of Education; and

WHEREAS, because many public school facilities in the State are in need of repair or renovation, this body finds that it is necessary to increase transparency and fiscal discipline by the Department of Education; and

WHEREAS, an audit of the Department of Education could help identify any shortcomings in the current distribution of funds and determine any necessary changes to increase the efficiency of the Department of Education's capital improvement repair and maintenance projects; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2024, that the Auditor is requested to conduct an audit of the Department of Education's statewide backlog of capital improvement repair and maintenance projects; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Auditor is requested to include projects relating to the renovation of central, district, and program offices in the audit; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Auditor is requested to submit a report of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2025; and

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

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title:

DOE; Auditor; Capital Improvement Repair and Maintenance Projects