August 15, 2019

STATE OF HAWAII
BOARD OF EDUCATION
FINANCE AND INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE

MINUTES

Queen Liliuokalani Building
1390 Miller Street, Room 404
Honolulu, Hawaii 96813
Thursday, August 15, 2019

PRESENT:
Kenneth Uemura, Committee Chairperson
Margaret Cox
Brian De Lima, Esq.
Nolan Kawano
Kili Namauʻu
Catherine Payne
Dwight Takeno

EXCUSED:
Bruce Voss, Esq., Committee Vice Chairperson

ALSO PRESENT:
Christina Kishimoto, Superintendent
Brian Hallett, Interim Assistant Superintendent, Office of Fiscal Services
Christine Shaw, Interim Assistant Superintendent, Office of School Facilities and Support Services
Alison Kunishige, Executive Director
Kenyon Tam, Board Analyst
Regina Pascua, Board Private Secretary
Irina Dana, Secretary

I. Call to Order

The Finance and Infrastructure Committee (“Committee”) was called to order by Committee Chairperson Kenneth Uemura at 11:03 a.m.

II. *Public testimony on Finance and Infrastructure Committee (“Committee” or “FIC”) agenda items

Committee Chairperson Uemura called for public testimony. The following people provided oral testimony.

Name	Organization	Agenda Item	Position
Corey Rosenlee	Hawaiʻi State Teachers Association	IV.A., Committee Action on identification and selection of individuals for a working group tasked with work ensuring Board of Education policies and structures establish a transparent, accessible, and credible budgeting and financial reporting process (FIC Strategic Priority 1); IV.B., Committee Action on a work plan and timeline to ensure Board of Education policies and structures enable the Department of Education to complete all facilities projects at its schools with the greatest socioeconomic and academic needs as determined by an equity priority order (FIC Strategic Priority 2)	Comment

Corey Rosenlee, Hawaiʻi State Teachers Association (“HSTA”), testified on the Committee’s action regarding the identification and selection of individuals for a working group and stated that he would like the Committee to consider including HSTA as a stakeholder group. Rosenlee testified on the Committee’s work plan and timeline to ensure Board of Education (“Board”) policies and structures enable the Department of Education (“Department”) to complete all facilities projects at its schools with the greatest socioeconomic and academic needs. He asked the Committee to include stakeholders and representatives in discussions and emphasized the need for a collaborative effort to secure needed funding from the Legislature.

The Committee also received written testimony. The following is a listing of the people that submitted written testimony before the testimony deadline.

Name	Organization	Agenda Item	Position
Corey Rosenlee	HSTA	IV.A., Committee Action on identification and selection of individuals for a working group tasked with work ensuring Board of Education policies and structures establish a transparent, accessible, and credible budgeting and financial reporting process (FIC Strategic Priority 1); IV.B., Committee Action on a work plan and timeline to ensure Board of Education policies and structures enable the Department of Education to complete all facilities projects at its schools with the greatest socioeconomic and academic needs as determined by an equity priority order (FIC Strategic Priority 2)	Comment

III. Approval of Meeting Minutes of May 16, 2019

ACTION: Motion to approve the Finance and Infrastructure Committee Meeting minutes of May 16, 2019 (De Lima/Cox). The motion carried unanimously with all members present voting aye.

IV. Recommendation for Action

Committee Action on identification and selection of individuals for a working group tasked with work ensuring Board of Education policies and structures establish a transparent, accessible, and credible budgeting and financial reporting process (FIC Strategic Priority 1)

Committee Chairperson Uemura reviewed the Committee’s identification and selection of individuals for a working group tasked with work ensuring Board policies and structures establish a transparent, accessible, and credible budgeting and financial reporting process.

Committee Chairperson Uemura stated that he recommends that the Committee designate him as the Committee’s representative to and chairperson of the working group. He recommends that the Committee authorize him with identifying and selecting individuals to serve on the working group as representatives from the relevant stakeholders, which may include Department state administration, school administrators, legislators, and community and nonprofit organizations.

Committee Member Brian De Lima expressed concern that legislators and other representatives might not reach a consensus on policy and structural changes. He detailed the challenges of students who are struggling and stated that the working group needs to include representatives from disenfranchised communities who historically have not had a voice. Committee Member Nolan Kawano agreed with Committee Member De Lima.

Committee Member De Lima detailed that the working group has three deadlines, including August 15, 2019; April 16, 2020; and May 21, 2020. He stated that there should be milestones between August 2019 and April 2020. Committee Chairperson Uemura stated that he would periodically report to the Committee on the status of the working group and its progress. He noted that he intends to work closely with the Office of the Superintendent and the Office of Fiscal Services.

Brian Hallett, Interim Assistant Superintendent, Office of Fiscal Services, stated that he supports the Committee’s effort and emphasized the importance of a balanced working group building credibility and trust.

ACTION: Motion to:

(1)

Authorize Committee Chairperson Uemura to identify and select individuals to serve on a working group tasked with:

(a)

Reviewing Board Policies 303-1, 303-2, 303-3, any other relevant Board policies, and any existing structures related to the Department’s budgeting and financial reporting process; and

(b)

Generating a comprehensive report to the Committee that describes and recommends any policy and structural changes necessary to establish an effective budgeting and financial reporting process that results in transparent, accessible, and credible Department budgets and financial reports; and

(2)

Designate Committee Chairperson Uemura as the Committee’s representative to and chairperson of the working group, as described in Committee Chairperson Uemura’s memorandum dated August 15, 2019 (De Lima/Takeno).

The motion carried unanimously with all members present voting aye.

Committee Action on a work plan and timeline to ensure Board of Education policies and structures enable the Department of Education to complete all facilities projects at its schools with the greatest socioeconomic and academic needs as determined by an equity priority order (FIC Strategic Priority 2)

Committee Chairperson Uemura reviewed a work plan and timeline to ensure Board policies and structures enable the Department to complete all facilities projects at its schools with the greatest socioeconomic and academic needs as determined by an equity priority order.

Committee Chairperson Uemura detailed that the Committee will develop and recommend to the Board a policy related to equitable school facilities that directs the Department to complete repair and maintenance (“R&M”) and capital improvement program (“CIP”) projects by order of greatest socioeconomic and academic needs. The Department will develop and provide to the Committee for its consideration an R&M priority list based on equity and equity-based criteria to determine the priority order of the execution of school CIP projects after the Board adopts its policy.

Committee Chairperson Uemura stated that he recommends that the Committee task the Department with providing the Committee with information on how it currently executes R&M and CIP projects and developing, for the Committee’s review, a draft policy related to equitable school facilities, a draft R&M priority list, draft CIP execution criteria, and a draft R&M backlog reduction plan. He stated that the Committee would oversee the Department’s work and provide direction as necessary. Committee Chairperson Uemura stated that he would like Committee Vice Chairperson Bruce Voss to work with and provide direction to the Department to help it meet the deadlines on the proposed timeline. The Committee would review all recommendations from the Department and determine its own recommendations to the Board.

Committee Member De Lima noted that the Committee would need to understand distinctions between schools and districts on all of the islands when determining methodology, implementation, matrices, and priorities.

Committee Member Kawano stated that the Department would need to review whether it should reclassify some of its R&M projects as CIP projects. He expressed concern that completing an R&M project for an old school building might result in a temporary fix that the Department would need to fix again in the future. He asked the Department to review its list of R&M and CIP projects and determine whether it should reclassify certain projects.

Committee Chairperson Uemura agreed with Committee Member Kawano. He stated that the Department completed its facilities master plan and might use it to determine how to proceed. He stated that the Committee intends to rely on the Office of School Facilities and Support Services.

Christine Shaw, Interim Assistant Superintendent, Office of School Facilities and Support Services, stated that the Department supports opportunities to collaborate with the Board. She stated that she would like the Committee to consider other factors, such as health, safety, and compliance, in addition to equity and access. She noted that part of the Department’s work would include a review of these factors. Shaw detailed that the Committee would need to consider how competing interests might affect the Department’s priority list. She noted that the priority list might need to remain dynamic in the case of emergencies, such as a national disaster. She emphasized the importance of communication and transparency and highlighted that the Committee’s timeline is necessary.

Committee Member Kawano asked how the Department evaluates projects on an equitable basis. Shaw stated that the Department is currently in the process of collecting this information and would report on it at the following Committee meeting.

Committee Chairperson Uemura stated that he would like an implementation plan to accompany priorities and policies.

ACTION: Motion to approve the work plan and timeline to ensure Board policies and structures enable the Department to complete all facilities projects at its schools with the greatest socioeconomic and academic needs as determined by an equity priority order, as described in Committee Chairperson Uemura’s memorandum dated August 15, 2019 (De Lima/Takeno). The motion carried unanimously with all members present voting aye.

V. Adjournment

Committee Chairperson Uemura adjourned the meeting at 11:21 a.m.