OUR UNION     |    JOIN HGEA    |    BENEFITS & PROGRAMS    |    NEWS    |    IT’S POLITICAL

Advocating for More Federal Stimulus Funds to Reduce Proposed DOE Budget Cuts

On Thursday, Jan. 21, the Hawaii Board of Education will discuss and act upon the Department of Education’s reorganization plan to cut its budget by 10%.

According to DOE Superintendent Christina Kishimoto’s plan, the cuts would result in a projected reduction of 1,338 full-time equivalent positions. That includes approximately 530 non-teacher positions and just over 800 teacher positions for fiscal biennium 2021-2023. See the DOE reorganization plan for details.

While this is the current DOE plan, the situation is likely to change due to President-elect Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan that AFSCME President Lee Saunders calls “a massive step forward.” While congressional approval is still needed, Biden’s plan shows his support for public services and the public workforce — which is one of the reasons AFSCME and HGEA endorsed him.

Meanwhile the DOE’s Kishimoto recognizes the potential for additional federal funds in her plan and states, “From March to June, the Department will closely monitor the budget situation. If the Department were to receive any additional funding, the complex and school level reductions will be re-evaluated.”

HGEA will continue to closely watch the DOE’s plan. Additionally we will continue to work with AFSCME and Hawaii’s congressional delegation to press for unrestricted stimulus funds.

In an effort to keep you fully informed, see the link below for the DOE’s plan to use the current $183,595,211 in federal funds.

These plans will be discussed and acted upon at the Board of Education’s meetings on Thursday, Jan. 21. Click on the links below for agendas and information or go to the Hawaii BOE website.

9:30 a.m. Human Resources Committee

11:00 a.m. Finance and Infrastructure Committee

1:30 p.m. General Business Meeting

To submit written testimony on how these cuts would affect you, your family and your school please use the link below.

NOTE: Testimony submitted becomes public information including your name and the email used. HGEA may use portions of testimony submitted in eBulletins to members.

Phone: (808) 543-0000 | Web: www.hgea.org

Send us an Email

OAHU: oahudiv@hgea.org

HAWAII: hawaiidiv@hgea.org

MAUI: mauidiv@hgea.org

KAUAI: kauaidiv@hgea.org

NOTICE: If you have subscribed to eBulletin with your work email address, we recommend that you use a personal or home email address instead, so that we can continue to provide you with all the latest union and benefits news. You can update your email address with two simple steps:

Go to your member dashboard at www.hgea.org/account/member-login and log in to update your information.Open any eBulletin email from the account that you do not want to use and scroll to the bottom. Click on “remove” and it will unsubscribe that email account from eBulletin. [Note: If your department does not allow you to access the “remove” link, please email its@hgea.org or communications@hgea.org.]

Please do not reply to this email as we are not able to respond to messages sent to this address. For a complete list of member discounts or for more HGEA news, please visit www.hgea.org. If you have specific inquiries, please contact your local HGEA office.

OAHU: 543-0000    BIG ISLAND: 935-6841    MAUI: 244-5508    KAUAI: 245-6751

Visit your subscription management page to modify your email communication preferences or update your personal profile. To stop ALL email from HGEA eBulletin,  to remove yourself from our lists.