Gov. Linda Lingle said this evening she does not approve of an agreement announced earlier today between the teachers union and Department of Education to restore seven of the remaining ten furlough days this school year.

The Hawaii State Teachers Association approved an agreement with the state Board of Education and the Department of Education to reduce the number of furlough days by seven in the current school year.
The settlement would ensure that there would be no furlough Fridays for the remainder of the school year, according to the state Board of Education.
Under the agreement, $35 million from the state's Rainy Day Fund will restore five furlough days, teachers will give up two planning days (January 4 and May 21) and ends the school year three days early.
But the agreement would need Lingle's endorsement, and late today she said she could not go along with it.
The governor's news release said, "Today’s proposal being floated in the media would use more than two-thirds of the $50 million offered by the Governor and would only restore five days of instruction."
“This arrangement is not a credible plan, it is not fiscally responsible and it is not sustainable,” Lingle stated in the release.
Wil Okabe, president of the HSTA, said earlier today the plan represents a compromise to deal with the urgency of the current school year. He said more talks may be necessary to deal with next year’s furlough days.

Here is the news release sent this evening by the governor's office:

HONOLULU – The agreement between the Hawai‘i Teachers Association (HSTA) and the Department of Education and Board of Education described by the media is not a viable solution to restore 27 days of classroom time to Hawai‘i’s school children.

On November 15 Governor Linda Lingle proposed a comprehensive solution that would have assured that children would be in the classroom for the balance of the next year-and-a-half.

Today’s proposal being floated in the media would use more than two-thirds of the $50 million offered by the Governor and would only restore five days of instruction.

“This arrangement is not a credible plan, it is not fiscally responsible and it is not sustainable,” Governor Lingle stated.

This proposal comes out after more than a month after the Governor made her proposal. The short-sighted offer comes after the Council on Revenues’ recently lowered revenue estimates for the coming year projecting a worse economic outlook than when Governor Lingle made her very fair and common-sense offer to the teachers union. The proposal completely ignores the state’s worsening economic outlook.

The Governor’s original plan called for teachers to do their part by returning to classes for 15 days. Under the HSTA’s proposal, teachers would give up only two days – January 4 and May 21. The proposed plan also calls for the school year to be shortened by three days, defeating the intent of giving Hawai‘i’s children more instructional time.

“We cannot agree to a plan that does not solve the furlough situation and that shortens the school calendar at the expense of children and their families,” Governor added.

To date, the HSTA, the DOE and BOE have not shared details of the proposed plan with the Administration nor have they returned phone calls since last Wednesday.

Governor Lingle noted that her senior staff remains available to discuss the details of her affordable, comprehensive plan with members of the HTSA, the DOE, the BOE, parents and community groups.

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