Hawaiian Schools to Begin Friday Furloughs, To Affect an Estimated 170,000 Students, Including Special Needs Students

It is low-down dirty shame that school children in Hawaii will suffer from the actions of a few. Despite the threat of a federal class action lawsuit, the state Attorney General Mark Bennett said the state will proceed with public school teacher furloughs which are scheduled to begin Friday. So, while President Barack Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan are pressing for a longer school year, the Department of Education in Hawaii is bent on cutting 17 days, specifically Fridays, from the school year. How is the United States to remain competitive educationally if school days are being cut to reduce a state's labor costs in order to close budget deficits? Parents of an estimated 170,000 students in Hawaii will have to scramble to find alternatives to school on the affected days, not to mention the loss of instruction time.

According to media reports, in September, members of the Hawaii State Teachers Association ratified a two-year contract with the state that includes 17 furlough days a year for teachers on 10-month contracts and 21 days for teachers on 12-month contracts. The furlough days amount to a 7.9 percent pay cut and will shut down the school system for 17 Fridays beginning this week.


The bottom line is that it is unfair for the students to be caught in the cross hairs of such legal wrangling. The furlough days should be moved to non-instructional days, such as teachers' work days; scheduled around school vacation time when teachers are still winding down the end of the school year or right before they go off for Christmas holidays or even right before the new school year starts when they go in to prepare their classrooms. The state of Hawaii should find innovative ways to come up with the money necessary to stop furloughs. These furloughs will cause chaos, especially to the families with special needs children.