STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1485-24

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2024

RE: H.C.R. No. 192

H.D. 1

Honorable Scott K. Saiki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2024

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Education, to which was referred H.C.R. No. 192 entitled:

"HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE AUDITOR TO CONDUCT AN AUDIT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION'S STATEWIDE BACKLOG OF CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE PROJECTS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to request the Auditor to conduct an audit of the Department of Education's statewide backlog of capital improvement repair and maintenance projects.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from Hawaiʻi Children's Action Network Speaks!; Hui for Excellence in Education; and four individuals. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Office of the Auditor.

Your Committee finds that 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. 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. Your Committee further finds that properly repairing and maintaining public school buildings are necessary for the safety of Hawaii's students and teachers.

Your Committee notes that in January 2018, the Department of Education reported to the Legislature that the school repair and maintenance backlog was $293,000,000. The Department of Education later redacted that statement, reporting that the true backlog was $868,000,000. 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. Your Committee believes that 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.

Your Committee has amended this measure by requesting that the Auditor examine certain processes of the Department of Education related to repair and maintenance and procurement.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Education that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of H.C.R. No. 192, as amended herein, and recommends that it be referred to your Committee on Finance in the form attached hereto as H.C.R. No. 192, H.D. 1.

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

____________________________

JUSTIN H. WOODSON, Chair