STORY SUMMARY>>>
Two parents groups announced a plan Friday that would restore 15 of the 21 remaining public school furloughs at a cost of $55 million.
Dubbed the People’s Plan, the proposal put forth by Hawaii Education Matters and Save Our Schools-Hawaii would require teachers to give-up six planning days while counting on the next governor to resolve the six furlough days that remain in the next school year calendar.
“What we want to show today with the People's Plan is that we don't want to use up all the resources that the state has,” said Jo Curran, co-founder of Hawaii Education Matters.
“I think when we consider all of the things that other parties have voiced this seems to be for us, a reasonable way to move forward,” added Lois Yamauchi of Save Our Schools-Hawaii.
In a statement released just hours after the People’s Plan was announced Gov. Linda Lingle quickly dampened hopes of any settlement with the teachers union over the increasingly unpopular furlough Fridays.
“Under this proposal, students, parents, teachers, other school employees, Department of Education officials, legislators and the general public would still be left with the looming uncertainty of the remaining six furlough days in the second half of the next school year,” said Lingle. “I encourage these parents to ask HSTA to re-open the negotiations.”
Last month the governor announced a plan that would use $62 million to restore twelve furlough days and require teachers to give-up another nine planning days. In Friday’s statement Lingle stood behind her proposal saying it’s what the state can afford.
“The generous proposal I offered last month eliminates all remaining days when children are supposed to be in school but are shut out, while remaining within our budget constraints,” she said.
The governor’s plan would fund only essential school-level personnel and stands in stark contrast to a supplemental agreement reached between the Board of Education and the HSTA, which would cost $92 million and bring back all Department of Education workers.
HSTA President Wil Okabe was quick to support the proposal put forth by the two parents’ groups, which like the supplemental agreement costs $6.1 million per day to reopen schools.
“That is a viable plan and we feel there's some flexibility in regards to the funding because the governor has been mentioning that she only has X amount of money,” said Okabe, who commented to Khon2 before the governor released her statement.
Hawaii Education Matter and Save Our School-Hawaii insisted they were not siding with the teachers union in the continuing stare down between the governor and the HSTA.
“People will perceive it that way,” said Clare Hanusz, a Save Our Schools supporter who was among those that held an eight day sit-in at the governor’s office to protest furlough Fridays.
“People have perceived us in all different kinds of ways,” added Hanusz. “That's fine, people think what they want to think but we're standing with the kids.”
LAWMAKERS NOT MOVED
State lawmakers meanwhile did not have much of a reaction to the proposal put forth by Hawaii Education Matters and Save Our Schools-Hawaii.
A conference committee charged with deciding how much money to raid from the Hurricane Relief Fund in order to fund a deal to end public school furloughs is taking a wait-and-see approach.
During a hearing Friday afternoon conferees voted to delay any action on SB 2124, SD2, HD1, which would essentially provide the funds necessary for any deal.
“We're not ready to take any action,” said Sen. Norman Sakamoto, one of the chairs of the conference committee.
“We're still hopeful that there'll be an official agreement on the governor, the teachers (and) the Board in the dollar amount as well as the release of that amount.”
The committee voted to delay any action on the bill until Wednesday at 2 p.m.
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