Democratic legislative leaders agreed yesterday that reducing a repair and maintenance backlog at the University of Hawai'i will be among their top priorities.

The university's decaying infrastructure became an issue at the state Capitol when football coach June Jones left UH for Southern Methodist University in Dallas.

Jones had complained about shabby athletic facilities, but lawmakers, including some who toured the Manoa campus last week, have heard descriptions of deterioration throughout the UH system.

Democratic majority leaders in the House and Senate, meeting privately yesterday afternoon, decided to put UH repair and maintenance in their joint legislative package, which also will include initiatives on energy and housing.

Democrats had planned to have early childhood education in the joint package, but several lawmakers said it has apparently fallen out because of a lack of detail and questions about cost.

UH-Manoa Chancellor Virginia Hinshaw has told lawmakers that the deferred maintenance backlog in Manoa alone has been chronically underestimated and is now upward of $400 million.

House and Senate Democrats expect to work over the next few days to flesh out the UH repair and maintenance component, such as the balance between cash and bond financing and how much the state can afford in a tight budget year. But lawmakers said they plan to make a significant financial commitment.

"Bottom line, the will is there. We're trying to find a way," said state House Majority Leader Kirk Caldwell, D-24th (Manoa).

State Sen. Norman Sakamoto, D-15th (Waimalu, Airport, Salt Lake), the chairman of the Senate Education Committee, and state Rep. Jerry Chang, D-2nd (S. Hilo), the chairman of the House Higher Education Committee, agreed to make UH repairs a priority.

"We will get something done," Chang said.

"Let's do what we can do to get the backlog down to a reasonable amount," Sakamoto said.

UH IN PUBLIC EYE

Economists have said that bond-financed capital improvement projects would help address the state's aging infrastructure and could be beneficial in the event of a slowdown in private-sector construction. There are outstanding repair and maintenance needs at public schools and housing projects, but UH, because of the drama over Jones' departure, has gotten the most recent public attention.

Over the past several weeks there have been widely conflicting media accounts of the repair backlog at UH-Manoa, ranging from $120 million to $300 million. Hinshaw, in written testimony for lawmakers, said the new estimate is upward of $400 million.

The discrepancy, according to a UH-Manoa spokesman, involved outdated construction cost estimates for the 169 projects in the backlog. Many of the projects have been on the list for years and had to be reassessed using today's construction costs.

Hinshaw told lawmakers that 25 UH-Manoa buildings have major system breakdowns and 37 have significant leaks. Many of the buildings are more than 60 years old and have suffered from a lack of preventive maintenance.

Gov. Linda Lingle, in her supplemental budget request, asked the Legislature for $50 million for repair and maintenance projects throughout the UH system next fiscal year.

Earlier this decade, the repair and maintenance backlog at K-12 public schools exceeded a half-billion dollars before lawmakers, moved by student and teacher complaints of crumbling and overheated classrooms, began to whack the list down. Public school repairs are still important for lawmakers, who likely will put more money toward reducing the backlog this session.

The joint House and Senate majority package represents leadership's priorities, but, in practical terms, it is a consensus for what lawmakers believe they can deliver during session.

SUBSIDIES FOR CHILDREN

While it may not end up in the package, early childhood education has conceptual support and lawmakers believe that legislation is possible this session.

A task force has recommended a 10-year plan to offer quality early childhood education at an estimated cost of $170 million, with about $10 million starting next fiscal year.

State Rep. Roy Takumi, D-36th (Pearl City, Momilani, Pacific Palisades), the chairman of the House Education Committee, said he would initially focus on at-risk 3- and 4-year-olds from low- to middle-income families. The children would likely receive state subsidies for standards-based education, either at preschools or in family childcare settings throughout the school year.

The main questions are how the Keiki First Steps initiative would be governed — Takumi, for example, thinks possibly by a state commission — and how to pay for professional development so that enough preschool teachers get adequately trained in early childhood education.

MANY QUESTIONS

Takumi and state Rep. Lyla Berg, D-18th (Kuli'ou'ou, Niu Valley, 'Aina Haina), just returned from fact-finding trips to Arkansas and Illinois to look at similar programs. Many educators and preschool advocates in the Islands have studied the issue for several years and, after several false starts, believe it is time to act.

But Caldwell, the majority leader, said some lawmakers need to know more before committing to a 10-year investment. "We want to make absolutely certain that if we take the first steps on this, we don't stumble," he said.

Caldwell and state Senate Majority Leader Gary Hooser, D-7th (Kaua'i, Ni'ihau), both said they think the concept is a good idea.

"There are just a lot of unanswered questions," Hooser said.

Takumi and Berg said that for every $1 the state spends on early childhood education it would save $7 on future special education, school dropout and criminal justice costs.

"I'm confident, frankly, that in late April, we're going to be happy with how this is going to fall into place," Takumi said.

Berg described it as taking the "first step toward the Hawai'i that we want."

"We have to start today, with action, not just talking about this," she said.

Reach Derrick DePledge at ddepledge@honoluluadvertiser.com.