With five children, Malia Tsuchiya is no stranger to the high cost of raising a family in Hawaii. But with her 3-year-old beginning preschool this past October and her oldest son attending college later this year, Tsuchiya said her family finances are strained more than ever.

“It’s a heavy load to carry,” Tsuchiya said, adding that she currently pays $1,100 a month to send her youngest child to preschool. 

The cost for many families will be reduced next year thanks to changes to the  that expanded the criteria to qualify for state subsidies to include families with 3-year-olds and those making up to 300% of the federal poverty guideline. Previously, the program only helped to cover the preschool tuition of 4-year-olds and had more restrictive income requirements.

“The money that we’re saving is going to help us so dramatically,” Tsuchiya said.

The number of children qualifying for these tuition subsidies is projected to double this year, increasing demand for early learning as the state progresses toward its ambitious goal of providing all 3- and 4-year-olds access to preschool by 2032. 

Currently, roughly half of Hawaii’s children do not attend preschool, according to , an initiative introduced by Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke to help the state achieve its 2032 goal.

Luke said the changes mean even a family of four making a household income of $100,000 could now qualify for a preschool tuition subsidy.

Federal Relief Funds Will Be Missed

According to the initiative, the state  in the next eight years to ensure that all eligible children opting into preschool will have a spot at school. But the end of federal Covid-19 relief dollars could undermine the state’s efforts to expand its preschool sector. 

The federal relief funds totaled over $110 million, with roughly $72 million expiring last November. The last of the funding, totaling $44 million, must be spent by September, according to the Department of Human Services.

The preschool sector was in a precarious place even before the pandemic, said Julie Kashen, a senior fellow at The Century Foundation, a New York-based think tank. The expiration of the federal relief funding means almost 130 child care programs, including infant-toddler centers and preschools, could close in Hawaii,  Kashen co-authored.

The impact of lost funds might not be immediate, Kashen said. But, she added, if states fail to invest in their child care providers, some centers will start reducing staff and may eventually close all together.

While Hawaii has prioritized the expansion of preschool facilities in recent years, the state faces continued challenges with the recruitment and retention of preschool workers. Some providers worry that the end of federal funding will make it even harder to sufficiently compensate their teachers.

At Seagull Schools on Oahu, Chief Executive Officer Megan McCorriston said federal funding made all the difference for her staff by helping to supplement salaries during the pandemic.

“It really made them feel validated in their work in a way that wouldn’t have been possible without the additional federal funding,” McCorriston said, adding the funds also helped keep tuition relatively low at the schools’ five preschool and child care facilities.

The state provided over 3,000 child care employees with $2,500 bonuses using the federal funding, said Dayna Luka, child care program administrator at DHS. Over 600 providers also received funds to cover rent, payroll, professional development and other expenses.

The extra money was essential, McCorriston said, especially when Seagull Schools was enrolling fewer students than usual during the height of the pandemic. That resulted in less revenue for the school even as operating costs increased due to inflation, she added.

The federal relief funds stabilized the early learning workforce as much as possible during the pandemic, said Deborah Zysman, executive director of . According to DHS, the state’s child care workforce declined by approximately 30 providers from 2020 to 2022. 

But, Zysman said, more investments are needed if the state wants to expand its preschool sector.

State Solutions Needed 

Approximately 2,800 children could qualify for Preschool Open Doors tuition subsidies this year, Luke said. But there’s no guarantee that families will be able to find a preschool center enrolling new students. 

Because of the workforce shortage, not all preschools are operating at full capacity, said Vivian Eto, strategy and project management lead for . She’s hopeful the Legislature can offer a solution this year. 

 would establish a wage subsidy for child care providers, ensuring a minimum of $16 an hour. A similar bill was introduced last year but died in the chaotic final hours of the session. 

Rep. Lisa Marten, chair of the House Human Services Committee, said the subsidies proposed in the bill are intended to replace the expiring federal Covid relief funds.

“We’re hoping to pass that bill this session,” she said. “But there’s a lot of competing needs, including Maui, so there’s no guarantee.”

Yet, the state continues to push ahead in expanding its free preschool offerings. Currently,  operates 49 public preschool classrooms with a total of 947 seats, said executive director Yuuko Arikawa-Cross. The state plans to add 130 classrooms by 2026 and complete a total of 231 classrooms by 2028, according to the School Facilities Authority.

While Zysman welcomed the expansion of public preschool facilities, she predicted that ongoing workforce shortages could pose some limitations. Pay tends to be higher for teachers in state-run preschools, and some private schools may lose their employees to the public sector, she added.

Paula Yanagi, executive director of Ka Hale O Na Keiki Preschool on Hawaii island, said she’s also lost some students to a public preschool classroom that opened at Honokaa Elementary School in 2014. While her enrollment has since recovered, Yanagi said, she wishes the state had first invested in community preschools like her own, especially in such a small, rural community.  

But, Yanagai said, after the influx of federal funding for providers during the pandemic, she remains hopeful that the state now understands the importance of supporting preschools in years to come.  

“I’m hoping this will just be the kickoff,” she said. 

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

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It’s the next step in a process many in Stockton believe will result in criminal charges against its leaders and could force the school system to pay back over $7 million in federal relief money.

The district, which a top education researcher previously told ĂŰĚŇÓ°ĘÓ was a “worst-case scenario” for its COVID spending, had been waiting on news of a criminal probe after a from state auditors highlighted questionable contracts. On Monday, they got their answer: Authorities will not only examine the auditors’ findings, but take an expansive look at other possible malfeasance.

“I launched a full-fledged, multi-agency investigation,” San Joaquin County District Attorney Ron Freitas said. “Make no mistake, any attempt to commit fraud on the backs of our children will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.” 

His office is joined in the probe by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, a possible nod to the auditors’ focus on federal funds. A spokesperson said Freitas’s office has not yet concluded who might be charged or the nature of any possible charges, nor could it share details on its timeline.

Former Superintendent John Ramirez and former Chief Budgetary Officer Marcus Battle, two leaders targeted by the auditors, both told ĂŰĚŇÓ°ĘÓ they bear no culpability for any misappropriation of funds.

“From my viewpoint, the bulk of the transactions and questionable practices were initiated before my arrival in the district,” Battle wrote in an email to ĂŰĚŇÓ°ĘÓ. He added that “rumors about fiscal malfeasance” have long plagued the district. 

“If the [district attorney] feels that he needs to do an investigation, I think that’s great,” Ramirez said. But he declined to comment on who might be at fault, citing a non-disclosure agreement he signed with the district upon leaving office.

In January, a shakeup on the school board put those who pledged to reform the district in the majority. Newly installed board President AngelAnn Flores, who said she previously called for auditors to look into the district, was “grateful” the district attorney is launching an investigation.

“I’m going to trust that the investigation process will prove exactly what I have been shouting from the rooftop for almost two years now: that we have some bad actors and leadership … and all should be held accountable,” she said.

Stockton Unified already faces a and could be forced to pay back millions more in misspent federal grant money. 

“We are in a critical budget state currently,” Flores said. “It’s one of my stressors keeping me up at night.”

Stockton educator Silvia Cantu echoed a common worry in Stockton that budgetary woes could prompt a state takeover of the long-struggling school system. Working at a small school, she fears the move could lead the state to shut the doors of her workplace, George Washington Elementary.

“If the district has to make up money, it’s going to have to close schools and my school will possibly be one of them,” said the Stockton Teachers Association member. “I don’t think it’s right that the neighborhood or our school should be punished for the lack of knowledge and whatever these board members are doing.”

“They think they can take money and nobody cares,” she added.

Now, she’s awaiting the outcome of the probe and believes it should not be a matter of “if” but of “when” charges are announced. 

Grand jury reports and previous coverage from ĂŰĚŇÓ°ĘÓ, including documents obtained under the Freedom of Information law, revealed several concerning uses of relief funds in the district, including:

• The $7.3 million highlighted by the — for air filters designed to kill COVID, the bulk of which remain unused in a district warehouse.
• Over $2 million to cover the six-figure salaries of 14 district executives, one of whom runs a popular that regularly targets political enemies, including student activists and teachers.
• $150,000 in startup costs to a program designed to help students curb pandemic learning loss. The district abruptly abandoned the project after five months of planning. 

But Freitas, the district attorney, said his investigation “will not limit itself to the terms of the [auditors’] report,” and could include wrongdoing beyond questionable COVID stimulus funding.