HONOLULU — Teach for America in Hawaii says losing about $1 million in state funding will drastically hamper efforts to train and support teachers in struggling schools that need them the most.
The organization has been in Hawaii since 2006, receiving $870,000 in 2012 and 2013 to help the state Department of Education fill a teacher shortage.
But its state funding was cut in half in the House version of the budget and in full by the Senate’s $12 billion budget passed last week. Conference committee discussions on the budget could begin this week.
Hawaii has long relied on recruiting teachers from the mainland to work in schools that are difficult to staff.
Teach for America anticipates having to cut in half the number of teachers who come to Hawaii this year.