Senate Standing Committee on Education

Good Afternoon. Welcome to the Senate Committee on Education. Today is Wednesday, March 19th, 2025. This is our 3 o' clock PM agenda and we are in hearing room 229. This meeting, including the audio and video of remote participants, is being streamed live on YouTube.

You will find links to viewing options for all senate meetings on the live and on demand video page of the legislature's website. This Zoom meeting and your and YouTube livestream event will include this 3 o' clock PM agenda for the Committee on Education.

In the unlikely event that we must abruptly end this hearing due to technical difficulties, the committee will reconvene to discuss any outstanding business on Friday, March 21st in room 229 and a public notice will be posted on the Legislature's website.

I'd like to take this time to remind our testifiers that due to time restrictions on our hearings, we will be limiting testimony to 1 minute per testifier per bill for people participating remotely. Please remain muted and video disabled until shortly before it is your turn to testify.

When I call your name, unmute yourself and your time will begin. After your minute is completed, staff will mute you so that we can move this hearing along in an orderly and efficient manner. And on our agenda today is House Bill 329 HD2 relating to the School Facilities Authority.

This clarifies that the School Facilities Authority is responsible for projects and facilities for pre kindergarten, preschool, child care and early learning programs, workforce housing and any public school development planning and construction assigned by the Legislature, Governor or Board of Education. Allow the School Facilities Authority to use the Department of Education for certain recruitment and hiring responsibilities.

Allows the School Facilities Authority to partner with public and private development agencies to develop pre kindergarten facilities. First to testify on this matter is Superintendent Keith Hayashi or DOE.

Aloha Chair Kidani Vice Chair Marcado Kim Members of the Committee Sean Bacon, Assistant Superintendent for the Department of Education, testifying on behalf of the Department. Department stands on its written testimony which provides comments on this measure and we thank you for the opportunity.

Sean, can you just explain what the comments are?

So a couple things on it for the Is one of the things that it talks about on the School Facilities Authority is in the legislation it mentions School Facilities Authority could use either DHRD or the Department of Education for the recruitment.

One of the things is the Department is concerned about having two different different agencies responsible for the recruitment and we would be recommending that it be one or the other. Currently, right now DHRD is doing the recruiting and the Department would prefer that it remain at that point.

I Think a lot of the positions that are being recruited for schools, School Facilities Authority may be better recruited for through DHRD than the Department of Education.

Thank you for that clarification. Thank you. Members, Questions. How many employees does SFA have currently right now?

According to our records that I just pulled before we came, there's 11 positions currently we have in our system for school facilities.

12.

What was that?

You're approved for 12 or you approve for 11?

I'd have to check on what School Facilities Authority is approved. 12.

Right. And 11 filled. Eight is filled.

Eight is filled. Yeah. There's. According to my records, there's three vacancies that are in our system right now.

So four vacancies. Got to touch bases with him. So you know the numbers. Okay. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Any further questions? We have Ricky Fujitani, SFA.

Thank you. Chair and Vice Chair and Committee Members. Ricky Fujitani. We have submitted testimony that supports the intent and seek to get clarification on clear roles and responsibilities and open for any questions if you have any. Thank you.

I don't have your testimony.

Yeah, I do. I have a question. I have a question. When you say clear responsibilities, can you explain what's not clear right now?

Well, the. What was not clear is the confusion on recruitment. It.

So that's the same thing we just talked about.

In the current law. It says may. It says we're administratively assigned to the Department of Education. So our payroll and everything else normally is through there, but it says it may use the Department of Human Resources. And that's why there's confusion right now. We were able to fill eight exempt positions through the Office of Talents Management.

But the four more difficult ones are the civil service ones. And that's what we're working with Deherd now.

So the positions you have now was. Didn't get recruited through De herding. Good.

Through the DOE. Right. Through. Through the DOE's Department Called Office of Talent Management Date. Right.

Okay. So they're not been helpful in getting this last four positions.

They feel because the civil service is more complicated that we've been directed to use De Herd.

So you want to be able to just use D Herd in the future or still do a combination of both.

Yeah, I mean, whatever is quickest. I mean, we've been in existence for over two years and we haven't been able to recruit or any of our civil service positions yet.

So maybe the position should all be non civil service.

Then we would fill it faster. Unfortunately, in our enabling legislation, there was 124 of its civil service 8 exempt.

Is there a reason why only. Why the 4 was civil service?

I do not know that.

Yeah. Does anybody know what's the rationale of the problem?

Obviously.

Okay, thank you.

Okay. Anyone else here wishing to testify to this measure?

Good afternoon. Chair Kidani, Vice Chair Kim, Senator Kanuha, Ann Horuchi from the Department of the Attorney General. I apologize if you don't have our testimony. I'll make sure that it gets submitted to the Committee. In our testimony, we provided some comments.

First, with regard to pre kindergarten and preschool facilities, child care and early learning programs are not on public school campuses, and the DOE doesn't have jurisdiction or administrative authority over those programs. So in our testimony, we've suggested clarifying amendment to address that issue.

Also from the bill, it's unclear if SFA's responsibility for all public school projects related to new or renovated facilities for pre kindergarten and preschool programs includes the responsibility for the repair and maintenance of those programs on the OE or charter school campuses.

If the intent is to make SFA responsible for repair and maintenance, we provided some clarifying amendments if the intent is to not have SFA be responsible for repair and maintenance, and we've suggested amendments to address that as well.

And finally, with regard to workforce housing, we are suggesting a clarifying amendment to indicate that the workforce housing is for educators and education workers in public schools. Also, it's again, it's not clear if whether or not such housing must be on public school property to qualify as public school project. So we suggest that SFA, if SFA.

Excuse me. If the intent is to allow SFA to build workforce housing outside of public school grounds that be explicitly set forth in the bill. Thank you. I'll be available for questions.

Thank you. Members, questions. Thank you. Anyone else here wishing to testify, please come forward.

Aloha Chair Kidani, Vice Chair Makaro Kim and Senator Kanuha. My name is Jordana Ferrer with the City and County of Honolulu. I'm here on behalf of Director Krekke with the Department of Community Services. I apologize that our testimony is late. I did hand out some hard copies and have some extra ones if that's helpful.

But we support the intent of this bill and we recognize some of the concerns that were brought up from the other departments.

Defer to them on the implementation, but offer a small amendment that we think will help alleviate some of the concerns and allow us to continue our partnership with the state to expand early learning opportunities on some city property. Happy to answer any questions.

Thank you. I haven't had a chance to read this information. Members, questions.

Is that all the people testifying or just. Oh, I'm sorry.

No, I believe so. Thank you. Is there anyone else here wishing to testify on this measure?

Can we get SFA back up? So, Ricky, you heard what the Attorney General said. So is it the intent for you folks to do the repair and maintenance of the preschools and kindergarten childhood or whatever?

Well, if it, if that's the decision, you'd have to build an entire maintenance organization in the SFA also because right now on school property. Right. You have on the neighbor islands, repair and maintenance is done by DAGS. CIP is done by, by, by the DOE on Oahu.

They have an entire division of over 250 employees doing repair and maintenance. It really doesn't make sense to duplicate a third agency. Right.

So I guess that's what I'm trying to. I don't know whose Bill this is.

Yeah, but the, but the, it's, it's unclear right now, right?

Yeah. So it's not. This isn't your folks's bill.

No, it's, it's, it's the House Bill.

Okay, but you didn't, you didn't encourage them to introduce this bill. Yeah. So. Okay, so I agree that we shouldn't be duplicating that and you don't have the manpower to do it. And what about the issue on building outside of public lands, workforce development?

Yeah, public. Public lands.

I think that's clear.

That's clear because it's bond funded money. So it would be like a grant and aid, which is the legality of it very complex. But for the city and county, County of Hawaii, County of Maui, we clearly need to work with those organizations for, for preschool pre K opportunities using county land.

So we want it broad where we can work with county agencies to provide pre K opportunities.

Okay, so you do think that that should be part of your responsibility to be able to not only put workforce development housing on public lands, but also on other lands.

Yes.

Okay.

Thank you Members for the questions. Thank you.

Recess. Reconvening the Committee on education.

We. So the Committee is recommending for House Bill 329 HD2 to pass with amendments. And the amendments would be that SFA not be responsible for any DOE facilities. Yeah. That includes maintenance and repairs. That SFA can build workforce development on school facilities and other property.

They are to retain staffing recruitment for positions within SFA With DHRD, we will insert an appropriation amount of $100 million out of the General Fund for fiscal year 26 for a new middle school in central Maui to be expended by SFA.

Insert an appropriation amount of $30 million out of the General Fund for fiscal year 26 for a new elementary school in Lahaina to be expended by SFA and inserting an appropriation amount of $50 million out of the General Fund for fiscal year 26 for teacher housing in Mililani to be expended by SFA Members. Questions?

Okay. So. House Bill 329. House draft two. Recommendation is to pass with amendments. [Roll Call] Five Ayes. Your recommendations adopted. Madam Chair. Thank you.

That concludes your business.