TGI Staff Writer The local office of an agency which, among other functions, offers childcare referrals, has been taking lots more telephone calls as the Thursday strike date for public school teachers rapidly approaches. Parents are scrambling for care for
TGI Staff Writer
The local office of an agency which, among other functions, offers childcare referrals, has been taking lots more telephone calls as the Thursday strike date for public school teachers rapidly approaches.
Parents are scrambling for care for their children, especially those whose children remain at school until as late as 5 p.m. at the A+ after-school programs.
“We’ve been getting a lot of calls already, so we’ve done some research to find out who would be able to” take care of children, or more children, in the event of a strike, said Jan Casebolt, the new Kaua’i island coordinator for PATCH (People Attentive To Children).
The strike is “definitely going to impact everybody, myself included,” Casebolt added.
She has a “strike care list” that she has been giving to callers, which includes Paradise Fun, Kaua’i Children’s Discovery Museum and the Boys & Girls Club of Hawaii’s Kapa’a and Waimea locations.
She has also been letting parents know about other resources, such as around 30 childcare providers in the PATCH network from Kapa’a to Kekaha. The PATCH office number is 246-0644.
“If a licensed provider has the openings, they’ll take kids during the strike,” she said.
While yesterday Governor Ben Cayetano announced the state and the Hawai’i State Teachers Association were back at the bargaining table, the prospect of a public teachers’ strike remains the topic of conversation around the island.
Before agreeing Monday not to discuss negotiation specifics publicly, the two sides were far apart, with the HSTA asking for 22 percent pay raises over four years, and the state contending it can only afford to pay about 9 percent over the same period.
While there are many creative answers to the question of what to do with kids if there’s a strike, an option not available is Kaua’i County programs at neighborhood centers, recreation centers and parks.
The public facilities seem a logical alternative if schools close due to a strike, if for no other reason than getting to them won’t mean crossing picket lines. But Mayor Maryanne Kusaka said the county, which operates annual summer programs for children at certain parks and neighborhood centers, isn’t equipped to instantly start programs in case of a teachers’ strike.
“I certainly sympathize with the challenges that a teachers’ strike poses for all involved,” Kusaka said. “However, the county is not equipped for such a venture, nor do we wish to interfere in the course of a strike.”
Then there is the case of the Boys & Girls Club of Hawai’i Kapa’a location, which like its Waimea counterpart hoped to offer programs from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in case of a strike.
While the Waimea location is across the street from Waimea High School, the Kapa’a facilities are at Kapa’a High School. A decision is expected today whether or not teachers at Kapa’a High and adjacent Kapa’a Elementary School feel comfortable with the Boys & Girls Club continuing to operate programs and, hence, having staff and students cross picket lines to get to the facility.
“In order to get into the Boys & Girls Club, you probably have to cross the picket lines. Depending on the teachers and how they feel, since we are on school property, it’s basically going to be up to (them) if they want us on the campus or not,” said Gary Maguire, athletic director for the Boys & Girls Club of Hawai’i Kapa’a location.
The Kapa’a center normally offers daily programs, including athletics and computers, Maguire added.
Staff Writer Paul C. Curtis can be reached at pcurtis@pulitzer.net or 245-3681 (ext. 224).
