Hawai'i public schools will cut nearly $800,000 from their prep budgets, state Superintendent Pat Hamamoto said this afternoon.

Various athletic programs will cut costs from administration, supplies and equipment, and transportation.

They plan to "adjust sporting events schedules in order to reduce operating costs by scheduling multiple games on the same day with multiple schools," according to the budget proposal.

Hamamoto said the executive directors in each of the four public school leagues: the O'ahu Interscholastic Association, Maui Interscholastic League, the Big Island Interscholastic Federation and Kaua'i Interscholastic Federation, approached the Department of Education with the proposed cuts.

"You see me smiling because earlier this year we had to cut $9 million from our operating budget this year," she said. "We had to put some programs up, and it was very clear from the community input that athletics, or I should say maybe, maybe JV sports would be affected, was clearly not something the community would want. So the board asked us to go back and make the switches and changes."

The total amount proposed for reduction in a total of three categories includes $372,212 for transportation, $372,212 for supplies and equipment and $45,576 for an athletic trainer position.

"And that's why we have — a lot of programs that are not large in dollar amount, they are small in dollar amount, however, they were willing to put on the table, to help us out, $800,000," Hamamoto said.

The DOE will also cut one athletic trainer position — a vacant position at a school with two openings for an athletic trainer — at one school.

"I'm very proud of them, because if we're going to do this and we're going to get through the crisis, and we're going to get through this budget reduction in the next couple of years, then we have to work together and we have to pull together and we have to focus on teaching and learning and what we need to do that's a priority," Hamamoto said. "So, we appreciate what the guys did."