The governor's critics indict the wrong party. State law requires that the governor balance the state budget. The Hawaii Constitution gives the governor no role in setting priorities for the DOE. The governor acted responsibly in mandating cuts to the DOE budget, given that inflation-adjusted (2008 dollars) per pupil revenues have gone from $8,943 in 1991 to $17,626 in 2006 (the last year for which the U.S. DOE has complete figures) and inflation-adjusted (2007 dollars) per pupil current expenditures have gone from $7,152 in 1990 to $11,024 in 2006, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
Dilapidated buildings and obsolete textbooks are not due to insufficient taxpayer generosity. The DOE administration has created numerous out-of-classroom positions that raise costs and add nothing to student performance. Past legislatures approved DOE budget requests and mandated numerous wasteful programs within the DOE.
Despite substantial budget increases over the years, student performance, as measured by standardized tests, has barely budged. While the DOE spends more per pupil than the U.S. average (and more than every country on the planet), DOE performance remains in the national cellar. By some measures we are dead last.
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