The value of Kamehameha Schools' endowment fell by more than $2.2 billion in the wake of the global economic meltdown, prompting some belt tightening at the state's wealthiest charitable trust.

The estate said yesterday that the value of its investments declined 23.7 percent to $7.20 billion during its fiscal year ending June 30, 2009, from the year-earlier's $9.44 billion.

With the recent rally in the nation's financial markets, the value of the trust's endowment has bounced back to about $7.7 billion as of November. But the recent gains were not enough to avoid budget cuts at the estate.

The trust has reduced operational and capital spending by 10 percent during the past year, and its top 13 executives have taken a 5 percent pay cut.

"(Kamehameha Schools) was not immune to the national and international financial crisis that began in 2008 and has continued to date," the trust's court-appointed master, David Fairbank, said in a report filed in state Probate Court on Monday.

"Obviously, in these difficult financial times, the trustees must exercise even greater vigilance in providing prudent oversight of the endowment activities."

The investment decline was less severe than those experienced by other large educational organizations such as Yale, whose endowment value dropped 27 percent during the same period, and Harvard, whose investment portfolio tumbled 30 percent.

The downturn has not affected spending on Kamehameha Schools' core mission of educating children of Hawaiian ancestry, officials said.

Nonconstruction educational spending during the 2009 fiscal year increased to $234 million during the 2009 fiscal year from the previous year's $215 million, said spokeswoman Ann Botticelli.

She said the trust this year plans to provide $23 million in grants to partners in the local community, which include charter schools and social services agencies such as Alu Like Inc. The $23 million represents an 18 percent increase from the 2009 fiscal year.

The estate said it plans to disclose more complete investment and educational spending data when it releases its annual financial report in the next several weeks.

Founded by the 1883 will of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, Kamehameha Schools is a tax-exempt charity that educates children of Native Hawaiian ancestry. The trust is one of the nation's wealthiest charities and is the state's largest private landowner.

In recent years, Kamehameha Schools has greatly expanded its spending on educational and other programs.

Benefiting from a booming stock market and gains in other investments, such as hedge funds and private equity funds, the estate's nonconstruction educational spending has more than doubled from about $100 million in 2000 to $234 million today.