Education Institute of Hawaii only obtained complete financial accounting records from DOE in October after a two-and-a-half-year quest.
Youth advocates and school staff worry students are not getting the proper counseling or basic social services available in a regular school setting.
Some students have returned to campus only to find themselves studying online with the rest of the class.
The head of the school food services branch oversees the handling and distribution of school meals and other programs statewide.
The furlough days range between six and 10 days between Jan. 1 and June 30, Superintendent Christina Kishimoto told staff in an internal video message.
Superintendent Christina Kishimoto stressed that the first-quarter grades should be seen as progress reports and not year-end evaluations.
The federal lawsuit, filed earlier this week, comes several months after a former education assistant at a Big Island high school was sentenced for third-degree sexual assault.
Many board members expressed consternation at proposed cuts that will largely be absorbed by schools in order to plug a minimum $165 million pandemic-related shortfall.
Hawaii State Teachers Association warns that proposed cuts could mean a loss of 1,000 teacher positions.