House Standing Committee on Education

Aloha and good afternoon. Welcome to your Committee on Education, your last Committee on Education. On behalf of Chair Woodson and I, this is--today's date is, is April 10th, Thursday, and we are in Committee Room 309. It is 2:02 p.m. and we have three measures on our agenda.

First, we have SCR53SD1 requesting the Legislative Reference Bureau to cooperate with the Hawaii State Public Library System to identify rural and underserved communities in the state with a need for better telecommunication access for residents to participate in the state legislative process. So first up, we have Hawaii State Council on Developmental Disabilities in support.

Good afternoon, Chair, Vice Chair, members of the committee. My name is Shamaya Gorham. I'm an intern with the Hawaii State Council on Developmental Disabilities. We're going to stand in support of this measure. Main reason being we have a lot of advocates that would like to participate in the legislative session. However, access is not always available.

They're not always able to come here. So really amping up the telecommunication and the. The access is really just a big part of it, so that our advocates and people in our community can have access to see what goes on in the legislative process. So yeah, thank you. I'm available for any questions.

Thank you so much for being here. Next, we have Legislative Reference Bureau offering comments. And we also have Hawaii State Public Library System offering comments.

Just standing on the written comments. Happy to answer any questions.

Thank you so much, Mallory. That's it, members on our list. Is there anyone else wishing to testify online or in person? Seeing none. Members, questions? Okay. Seeing none. Let's move on to SCR117SD1.

Urging the Department of Education to collaborate with the Department of Transportation, Safe Routes to School Advisory Committee, and the County of Hawaii to conduct an inventory of bus stops on Hawaii Island utilized by children to travel to school and develop strategies to improve safety at each location. First up, we have Department of Education offering comments.

Good afternoon, Representative Woodson, Representative La Chica. My name is Megan Omura. I'm the Administrator for Student Transportation with the Department of Education, and the department stands on our written testimony.

Thank you so much. We also have Department of Transportation, in support, the Hawaii County Council Council Member Kierkiewicz, in support, Hawaii County Office of the Mayor, in support, and one individual in support. Is there anyone else here wishing to testify on this measure? Online? Seeing none. Members, questions?

I have a question, chair.

Yes, please go ahead.

DOE. Thank you for being here. Is there--per these pickup locations, are there any locations that are not safe for the students defined as they are in close proximity to areas of traffic on Hawaii Island?

So we will be currently doing a live route audit in the next couple weeks with our contractors where all the bus drivers will be evaluating how many students they're picking up at each designated stop we currently have.

For the Big Island specifically, we have around 53 active routes for East Hawaii, 72 active routes for West Hawaii, and 600 bus stop locations for those routes for East Hawaii and around 870 active stops for those routes for West Hawaii.

So at each location, we're going to be actually taking account of how many students are aware. Not all stops actually have students at the stops per se, just because these routes were designed ten years ago, so, you know, we'll be definitely trying to evaluate the safety of it, I guess, in regards to this measure, but I can tell you that the bus stops on the Big Island are not designated like the bus--like designed like the bus stops here, like in Oahu, like, if we're talking about county bus stops, there's no bench, there's no sign. A lot of times you're using stop markers or mile markers, things like that.

Yeah, that's like Maui. But are you going to have a chance to visit all these locations? That's over a thousand--

So we're really relying on our contractor to assist us with kind of that in mind, I think. I think one of the other challenges we do have in terms of these stops are a lot of them potentially are on private roads, so in those situations, we're going to have to either identify who the HOA people might be or who owns the road so that we can maybe talk with them about how we can improve safety if it's compromised.

Who's the contractor for it? Who's the contractor doing the work?

So we work with Roberts Hawaii for West Hawaii and Ground Transport for East Hawaii right now.

Okay, thank you. Thank you, chair.

Please stay, Megan. Is this currently a practice that's being done right now as you evaluate and design the routes? Do you currently inspect the routes for safety across the state?

As of my knowledge, we haven't really done a full audit, so this is something new we are trying in the next couple weeks. I think it's something that definitely needs to be done anyway, so I'm glad that we are going to do it right now.

Should we consider amending this where it would be the Safe Routes to School Advisory Committee that would be taking the lead? And we--I had spoken with them earlier and they are willing to take the lead in drafting this report. Would you be willing to provide them with the data that you just provided with us, you know, providing them and supporting them, you know, as they look to provide you with, working with them through this, the report?

Yeah, absolutely. We--I meet with their committee pretty--you know, on a monthly basis, so, yeah.

Oh, you're currently part of the Safe Routes to School Advisory Committee?

Not on the committee, but we do attend the meetings, so we definitely assist them with information.

And can I ask, since we've last met on the other bills on the school bus issues, what is the latest update on the contingency planning or the After Action Report as we're nearing the end of the school year and beginning to plan for the next school year for our school bus planning for the next school year?

Yeah. So we're--I've met with our complex area superintendents statewide and we will be working with our principals to discuss how we will be communicating this message for next year in conjunction with our comms department and our county bus agencies statewide as well.

Thank you. Thank you so much. Members, any other questions? Let's go ahead. Representative Muraoka.

Hi. Thank you. This is a really good thing. I just wanted to ask if maybe down the line in the future there may be an expansion of it because out in, you know, with the obvious problems we're having with bus routes, I know out in my district, with the exception of the main Farrington Highway, we don't have benches, we don't have--it's literally a sign nailed to a pole that says bus stop. So maybe in the future, do you think this can be expanded to identify safe routes all around the state instead of just Hawaii Island?

Yeah, I think that's something, like I said, we should be doing more frequently and I hope to kind of expand on the safety issue for students in the future.

And Representative Muraoka, should you consider introducing a resolution on this since I had only spoken to the--right. The measure's introduced today, yes. Thank you so much, Megan. Anything, anyone else? Okay. Thank you so much.

Thank you, guys.

Okay, so final measure on the agenda today, SCR134 urging the Department of Education to provide a detailed report to the Legislature on the true cost of produce producing school meals to ensure transparency and avoid unnecessary price increases. Members, we heard the House companion to this as well. And so this is the Senate version.

First up, we have the Department of Education offering comments.

Aloha Chair Woodson, Vice Chair Lachica and Members of the Committee. Sue Kirchstein, acting administrator of the School Food Services branch, testifying on behalf of the Department of Education. The Department stands on its written testimony which provides comments on this measure. Thank you for the opportunity to testify.

Thank you so much. We have Nate Hicks, Hawaii Public Health Institute in support. We also have Hawaii Appleseed in support. We have Nicole Wu, Hawaii Children's Action Network speaks in support via Zoom.

Aloha Chair, Vice Chair, Members of the Committee, thank you for hearing this resolution. And especially now with all the uncertainty with funding for programs, shoring up our school meals and making sure we have a good idea of the costs, I think is really even more important now. So we hope this resolution will pass. Thanks so much.

Thank you so much. We have Hawaii Hunger Action Network in support and we have one individual in support and we have Mr. Gavin Borja in support via Zoom not present. And that is all I have on our list of testifiers. Is there anyone else wishing to testify on this measure in person or online? Okay. Seeing none.

Members questions? I have one question for DOE. Okay, so currently in your testimony you share that you do have a you have systems in place to identify the cost for preparing both breakfast and lunch that and which supports the rationale for addressing unnecessary price increases.

Can you clarify a little bit about on that current process and what is currently provided either online or through the reports?

Sure. So how we do that right now is we take a look at the food cost. We also take a look at the other costs in preparing that meal, which includes wages, benefits, any other supplies and miscellaneous costs. Again, supplies, equipment, purchase, services, purchased property, or all other costs are miscellaneous.

So we are able to look at the costs in all of those three areas in which to come up with that meal per plate cost for both breakfast and for lunch. So currently the reporting that we do on that is anytime that there is a request for that information.

But the other reports that we do on an annual quarterly monthly basis are those reports in regards to how many meals that we have served for a month for a quarter year.

What is the current estimate that your current estimate for the cost to produce a meal right now that you had asked for from the latest Board of Education at the latest Board of Education hearing?

Sure. So our cost to produce breakfast is $5.80. Our cost to produce lunch is $8.66.

And in that in those costs to produce, is that in in the resolution? Do you currently break that down in terms of cost of ingredients, operational costs, beverage costs, material and supply costs, logistical and distribution costs? Is that any of that in terms of transparency reported online?

Currently, we don't do the transportation cost, but we do do the other costs.

That you have listed and it's easily available or found online? Yes. Okay. Are you able to share that with.

Us or with the Committee currently right now or.

No, no, right. I mean, after the hearing, are you able to point that, share that information with us or where we can easily find that? Okay, thank you, Question manager. Go ahead.

Thank you again for being here. Until two GMs came down. One for 4 million, an additional one for 20 million. You're requesting $24 million over each next of the two fiscal years. Do you have an idea as to what is accounting for that cost increased, primarily speaking?

Yeah, absolutely. I think that some of that is definitely attributed to the cost of food, that increased cost, cost of labor. I think because we didn't have that cost of. Or that increase in the cost of meals, we still need to recover from that as well.

Although we're getting monies to cover some of that cost, we still have to contribute to that and to cover that cost. I think there's also costs related to staffing as well.

So these are primarily inflationary variables or is it something else? Is there another factors?

I'm sorry, can you repeat that?

Is it inflationary? What is the. What is the actual reason part of it is inflationary?

Yes.

Okay, thank you. Thank you, Chair.

Members Any other questions? Other questions? Thank you so much. First, recess.

Welcome back to your Committee on Education. We are back for decision making. Okay, Members, first up on SCR 53 SD1. So for this one we spoke with the measures author. We will be reverting back to the original draft. We actually have passed out previous testimony from DAGS. It wasn't uploaded in this testimony.

I believe it was from March. If you don't have one, my Committee Clerk has extra copies. But the amendment would be to replace the Legislative Reference Bureau with the comptroller which was the.

In the original draft, to do the identification and report and have the comptroller cooperate with the Office of Planning and Sustainable Development and Hawaii Broadband and Digital Equity Office in addition to the Hawaii State Public Library System. In this.

In the Hawaii State Public Library System to identify rural and underserved communities in the state with a need for better telecommunication, including those with. Sorry, let me read this again.

The amendment would be to replace LRB with the comptroller to do the identification and report and have the comptroller cooperate with the Office of Planning and Sustainable Development and And Hawaii Broadband and Digital Equity Office in addition to the Hawaii State Public Library System to identify rural and underserved communities in the state with a need for better telecommunication access for residents including those with developmental disabilities access for residents to participate in the state legislative process.

Additionally, we will also be deleting the be it resolved clause asking the public Access room to establish an outreach program. And we will also be deleting the last two whereas clauses as LRB is no longer involved. And we will also be amending the title and the distribution list to reflect the change.

Again, this is a request from the Measures Authority to revert back to the original intent. So with that Members, comments, Questions, Concerns? Okay. Seeing none. Vice Chair for the vote.

Thank you Madam Chair. Members voting on SCR 53, SD. 1, the recommendation is to pass with amendments. [Roll Call]. Recommendation adopted.

Thank you. Case Second Measure SCR117SD1 on safe route to school and bus stops. We will also be passing an HD 1. So Members I spoke to this morning to the Chair of the Safe Routes to School Advisory Committee Chair as well as the measure introducer, and they are also in agreement with our proposed changes.

So because the intent of this resolution is to identify infrastructure and safety improvements along student commute routes, we will be shifting responsibility to the Safe Routes to School Advisory Committee and place the lead role with them.

So our amendment will be to clarify that the Safe Routes to School Advisory Committee, not the Department of Education to be responsible for leading the study and reporting to the Legislature. With the Department of Education, the Department of Transportation and the County of Hawaii serving in a support role.

We will also be making changes as requested by the Advisory Committee in the resolution so that the be it resolved and be it further resolved clauses as well as the reporting clause and distribution list reflect the change.

But we will also add AB it resolved clause requesting the County of Hawaii to consider funding the efforts of the Safe Routes to School Advisory Committee for the purposes of this resolution.

So we will adding a new be it resolved clause requesting funding to be used for the Safe Routes to School program to Fund the efforts and then making changes throughout the resolution in the various clauses making the Safe Routes to School Advisory Committee be the lead agency for this report.

Members comments, questions and concerns seeing none Acting Vice Chair for the vote.

Thank you Madam Chair. Members voting on SCR117 South Dakota 1, the recommendation is to pass with amendments noting the excuse absence of Representative Souza. Members, are there any nos or reservations adopted?

Thank you Members. On the last measure which is companion to previous House Resolution we had heard. Recommendation is to pass as is SCR 134, urging the Department of Education to provide a detailed report to the Legislature on the true cost of producing school meals to ensure transparency and avoid unnecessary price increases. Members, comments, Questions? Concerns? Seeing none.

Acting Vice Chair for the vote.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Members voting on SCR 134, the recommendation is to pass an amendment noting the excuse absence of Representative Souza. Are there any no's or reservations? Your recommendation is adopted.

Thank you so much. On behalf of Chair Woodson and I. That concludes your final Committee on Education. Thank you so much, everybody. Today's hearing is adjourned. Please stay for a group.