Thursday, March 28, 2024
Hawai'i Free Press

Current Articles | Archives

Monday, October 11, 2010
Abercrombie campaigns to shield DoE from Audit
By Andrew Walden @ 10:20 PM :: 8760 Views :: Energy, Environment

by Andrew Walden

It consumes 40% of Hawaii’s State budget, and by all accounts produces mediocre results. Yet the Hawaii Department of Education has not undergone a complete top to bottom audit since 1973. 

Hawai`i State Auditor Marion Higa's February, 2009 Procurement Audit of the Department of Education looked at only a small part of the DoE procurement budget and found millions of dollars wasted by what she termed "fraudulent unethical behavior."  In a single $160 million project, Higa’s auditors identified $21 million in waste.  But Neil Abercrombie doesn’t want anybody to dig any further.

The Maui News has noticed.  They editorialized October 10:

“We hope Democratic gubernatorial candidate Neil Abercrombie misspoke when he told an event on Maui Wednesday night that the ‘last thing we need is an audit of the educational system.’" 

Abercrombie didn’t misspeak.  He’s been campaigning against a DoE audit since the Primary.  In his “Recovery and Investment Plan” released October 5, Abercrombie claims: 

“…the people of Hawaii whom I have talked to are not interested in how politicians will balance the budget. What they really want to know is how we will do the things we need to do with the budget we have….

“People are tired of waiting. No new audits or studies will delay immediate implementation of the plan.”

The Star-Advertiser October 7 reports:

(Republican Gubernatorial candidate Lt Governor James “Duke”) Aiona also has called for an independent financial and management audit of the department to identify waste and inefficiency.

Abercrombie said he does not need an audit, but rather an opportunity to work with educators.

Volcanic Ash columnist David Shapiro October 1 skewers Abercrombie for blaming the failure of Act 51 on Lingle administration calls for an audit:

Abercrombie said in a statement to the (Sept 26) Star-Advertiser, “There is a good reason why many of the best aspects of Act 51 are contained in my plan — decentralized school systems work, and large school districts across the country have been moving in this direction for years.”

Maybe so, but he’s off base in his politicized diagnosis of why so little has happened in the six years since the law passed.

The reason the Lingle-Aiona administration was unable to implement Act 51,” he said, “had nothing to do with the merits of the act and everything to do with the fact that the Lingle-Aiona administration wanted to pursue a different course of educational reform on its own, like the unsuccessful pursuit of multiple school boards and an audit of the DOE.”

Pure nonsense. Gov. Linda Lingle has absolutely no power to set or implement policies for the Department of Education — and neither would Abercrombie; Act 51 was a creation of the Legislature, and implementing it was entirely the constitutional responsibility of the Board of Education, which as usual, was paralyzed by politics and indecision.

We’re glad that at least one newspaper editorial board has seen fit to highlight the audit issue.  Any day now, reporters will barrage Abercrombie with questions.  It came up during the October 6 Maui debate, and here is the result as described by Maui News:

Aiona has said that (a comprehensive audit of the DoE) would be a top priority of an administration led by him.

"If this was the case and it was needed, then why wasn't it done in the last seven-and-a-half years?" Abercrombie asked, referring to Aiona's part in the Lingle administration.

The simple answer is because the Legislature wouldn't approve one. In the last legislative session House District 10 member Angus McKelvey - a Maui Democrat - proposed one. The issue died in the Senate Education Committee.

Aiona is correct when he says the governor can request an independent audit, but the Legislature has to approve it.

Frankly, we can't see how - or why - anyone would oppose a full audit of a department that will spend over $2.4 billion this year. Let's face it, the results for this yearly expenditure have been less than spectacular.

---30---  

Links

TEXT "follow HawaiiFreePress" to 40404

Register to Vote

2aHawaii

808 Silent Majority

Aloha Pregnancy Care Center

AntiPlanner

Antonio Gramsci Reading List

A Place for Women in Waipio

Ballotpedia Hawaii

Broken Trust

Build More Hawaiian Homes Working Group

Christian Homeschoolers of Hawaii

Cliff Slater's Second Opinion

DVids Hawaii

FIRE

Fix Oahu!

Frontline: The Fixers

Genetic Literacy Project

Grassroot Institute

Habele.org

Hawaii Aquarium Fish Report

Hawaii Aviation Preservation Society

Hawaii Catholic TV

Hawaii Christian Coalition

Hawaii Cigar Association

Hawaii ConCon Info

Hawaii Debt Clock

Hawaii Defense Foundation

Hawaii Family Forum

Hawaii Farmers and Ranchers United

Hawaii Farmer's Daughter

Hawaii Federalist Society

Hawaii Federation of Republican Women

Hawaii History Blog

Hawaii Homeschool Association

Hawaii Jihadi Trial

Hawaii Legal News

Hawaii Legal Short-Term Rental Alliance

Hawaii Matters

Hawaii's Partnership for Appropriate & Compassionate Care

Hawaii Public Charter School Network

Hawaii Rifle Association

Hawaii Shippers Council

Hawaii Smokers Alliance

Hawaii State Data Lab

Hawaii Together

HIEC.Coop

HiFiCo

Hiram Fong Papers

Homeschool Legal Defense Hawaii

Honolulu Moms for Liberty

Honolulu Navy League

Honolulu Traffic

House Minority Blog

Imua TMT

Inouye-Kwock, NYT 1992

Inside the Nature Conservancy

Inverse Condemnation

Investigative Project on Terrorism

July 4 in Hawaii

Kakaako Cares

Keep Hawaii's Heroes

Land and Power in Hawaii

Legislative Committee Analysis Tool

Lessons in Firearm Education

Lingle Years

Managed Care Matters -- Hawaii

Malama Pregnancy Center of Maui

MentalIllnessPolicy.org

Military Home Educators' Network Oahu

Missile Defense Advocacy

MIS Veterans Hawaii

NAMI Hawaii

Natatorium.org

National Christian Foundation Hawaii

National Parents Org Hawaii

NFIB Hawaii News

No GMO Means No Aloha

Not Dead Yet, Hawaii

NRA-ILA Hawaii

Oahu Alternative Transport

Obookiah

OHA Lies

Opt Out Today

OurFutureHawaii.com

Patients Rights Council Hawaii

PEACE Hawaii

People vs Machine

Practical Policy Institute of Hawaii

Pritchett Cartoons

Pro-GMO Hawaii

P.U.E.O.

RailRipoff.com

Rental by Owner Awareness Assn

ReRoute the Rail

Research Institute for Hawaii USA

Rick Hamada Show

RJ Rummel

Robotics Organizing Committee

School Choice in Hawaii

SenatorFong.com

Sink the Jones Act

Statehood for Guam

Talking Tax

Tax Foundation of Hawaii

The Real Hanabusa

Time Out Honolulu

Trustee Akina KWO Columns

UCC Truths

US Tax Foundation Hawaii Info

VAREP Honolulu

Waagey.org

West Maui Taxpayers Association

What Natalie Thinks

Whole Life Hawaii

Yes2TMT