LIHU‘E — Gov. Linda Lingle on Sunday unveiled a plan that she says would restore 27 of the 34 instructional days lost under the current state Department of Education furlough schedule over the next year and a half. Schools would
LIHU‘E — Gov. Linda Lingle on Sunday unveiled a plan that she says would restore 27 of the 34 instructional days lost under the current state Department of Education furlough schedule over the next year and a half.
Schools would still be closed on Fridays through the end of this year under the governor’s plan, but students and teachers would return to their classrooms on Fridays from Jan. 1 to June 30, 2011.
The plan would require reopening contract negotiations to shift teacher-only days to regular classroom time and approval by the Legislature to tap into the state’s rainy day fund.
State lawmakers generally applauded the decision.
“Having not having seen all of the details, I’m glad that the governor is trying to get the kids back in school and it just shows that when the community gets involved and speaks to their leaders that positive things can happen,” Rep. James Tokioka, D-15th District, said Sunday afternoon. “I’m just not clear why we didn’t think of this before we put the teachers on furlough.”
Lingle’s plan calls for tapping into the state Emergency Budget Reserve Fund to restore 12 of the furlough days. The estimated expense from this rainy day fund would be $50 million, according to a news release from the governor’s office.
“In general, I’m pleased that the governor has come around to this decision. The sooner we can get our state’s kids back to school the better,” state Sen. Gary Hooser, D-Kaua‘i and Ni‘ihau, said Sunday. “Whether it’s the hurricane fund or the rainy day fund, it’s just moving money around. It doesn’t matter to me which fund is used.”
The Senate majority leader said he was in a similar position last month when he proposed that his colleagues return for a special legislative session to discuss using some of the hurricane relief fund’s $180 million to bring teachers back to the negotiating table.
Lawmakers have also proposed the governor use $35 million of federal stimulus money to restore some of the furlough days. That money is still available, Tokioka said, and at Lingle’s discretion.
The Republican governor has told the Democratic-controlled Legislature that the estimated daily savings for each furlough day is $5 million, Tokioka said. This would make Lingle’s estimate of $50 million from the rainy day fund to cover 12 furlough days off by about $10 million.
In addition to those 12 days, the plan calls for transforming 15 non-instructional days from Jan. 1 through June 30, 2011, into instructional days on Fridays.
“Over the next two years, there are well more than 15 non-instructional days if you count the Wednesdays where everyone goes home … plus any given year has two to three workshop days,” Lingle said in a transcript of her news conference Sunday in Honolulu. “They have professional development days, there are teacher institute days, some schools have waiver days, so if you put that together with the Wednesdays, there is certainly enough time.”
The big question now is whether the Legislature will convene a special session, as Hooser has advocated, or if lawmakers will wait until January to take up the issue in regular session.
Hooser said a majority of the Senate supports a special session, but he is unsure if the House would follow suit.
“There are plenty of needs to go around. There are human services programs and others that need help,” he said. “But I think a special session now to get our kids back to school, and then during the regular session everything will be on the table and we’ll look to see how we support other important needs in the community.”
Lt. Gov. James “Duke” Aiona said earlier this month that calling a special session would be premature because the revenue picture would be unclear.
Residents have vigorously called on state leaders to reopen public schools on Fridays. There have been three “Furlough Fridays” so far, with the first on Oct. 23 and the most recent on Nov. 6; the next is this Friday.
The governor is faced with a projected budget deficit of roughly $1 billion through June 2011. The state’s deal with the teachers union, which represents some 13,000 employees, amounts to a nearly 8 percent pay cut for teachers.
The furlough days result from some $227 million in cuts mandated by the governor and legislators, including roughly $127 million cut by Lingle in a 14 percent budget restriction.
Wil Okabe, the teachers union president, said in a statement Sunday that he was pleased with the governor’s proposal.
“If there ever was a rainy day for Hawai‘i’s public education system, this is it,” he said. “We believe the governor’s proposal represents the kind of viable option we said would be necessary for us to return to the negotiating table. HSTA is committed to finding a solution for resolving the problem of furloughs that will be best for our students and teachers and will improve Hawai‘i’s chances to succeed in the competition for Race to the Top grant funds.”
Lingle, in detailing advantages to her plan, said, “It allows us to refocus on improving the quality of instruction in our public school system, including putting together a competitive plan to position Hawai‘i to compete for additional federal education funding, such as Race to the Top.”
U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan on Thursday said Hawai‘i faces “a heck of a challenge” to make a compelling case that it qualifies for between $20 million to $75 million in federal Race to the Top competitive grants next year.
The grants would reportedly be used for innovative learning approaches such as charter schools or judging teachers based on student test scores. Applications are due in January and the first round of grants go out in April.
During labor contract negotiations with the Hawai‘i State Teachers Association, the DOE and BOE agreed to furloughs as the best way to cope with the reduced allocations.
The new pact, which Lingle agreed to, cut 17 days from the 180-day school year, giving Hawai‘i the fewest number of classroom days in the nation.
The board on Nov. 5 approved requests from 95 public schools to transform their teacher training days into instructional days. The board has also approved requests to change classroom schedules and extend school hours.
Duncan said the decision to cut 10 percent of Hawai‘i’s school days this year is mind-boggling. The governor called his comments “political.”
Garrett Toguchi, chairman of the state Board of Education, has pointed out that the state DOE’s $1.8 billion budget has been slashed by nearly $500 million over two years.
Hooser said he is glad Lingle has concluded the state needs to step up with more money to end the “suffering” that is happening while schools are closed Fridays.
“It’s too early to celebrate,” he said. “We have to wait and see what those details are.”
