Board of Education restores rebates for school learning centers

Middle and high school learning centers will likely keep their funding and staff after hundreds of students and educators opposed the Department of Education’s proposal to cut funding for these programs next year.

On Thursday, the Board of Education voted to keep about $2 million for learning centers in the DOE’s 2025-2027 budget. The centers offer after-school and weekend programs for students across the state interested in STEM, performing arts, agriculture and other subjects.

Currently, the state provides each center with an annual budget of $17,000 and a part-time coordinator.

DOE’s original proposal for its operating budget, totaling more than $2 billion, would have been scrapped learning center budgets next year and cut staff positions in 2026. The proposal attracted more than 1,000 pages of written testimony from faculty, alumni and parents who argued that the centers need continued state investment to adequately serve students.

“Without the budget and part-time position provided by the state, maintaining our learning center will put additional pressure on our school to find funding to keep these resources active,” wrote Katie Kealoha, who directs Waianae High School’s center focused on marine sciences.

The DOE initially said schools would be responsible for funding their learning centers through their own budgets, which are based largely on student enrollment. But many advocates said the schools don’t have the extra money to support their learning centers and staff, and board members agreed to maintain state support for the programs Thursday.

The DOE budget still includes significant cuts to other programs, including $200,000 for Title IX training and $5.8 million for services for students with autism. One recent grade for the BOE, Superintendent Keith Hayashi cited instructions from state leaders that departments should maintain their current funding levels rather than request more resources from lawmakers.

“The department is aware of the fiscal challenges facing the state as we prepare for FY 2025-27 and realizes the importance of better utilization of current resources,” the department said in budget supporting document published earlier this month. “We were asked during the legislative hearings to look internally to fund some of our budget requests.”

In testimony during Thursday’s meeting, Rep. Della Au Belatti praised the BOE for continuing to fund learning centers, but urged school leaders to push for more state funding for education.

“We really need the board to clean up these recommendations and present the Legislature with a budget that ensures all our children thrive,” she said.

Civil Beat’s educational reporting is supported by a grant from the Chamberlin Family Philanthropy.