Hawaii hiatus
Last week, Hawaii public school students experienced its first “Furlough Friday.” State education officials have decided to “furlough” students on 17 Fridays this school year so the education department can address its budget shortfall. The action has led to court challenges, protests by students and parents and a rebuke from U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan.
Do you approve of the decision by Hawaii’s leaders to reduce its budget deficit by canceling school days?
Leave a comment.
October 27th, 2009 @ 7:29 am
I think the school administration and teachers should take pay cuts in some form or another before the children’s learning time should be cut. As usual, the administration is not willing to give back and they hold the kids education hostage. I’m sure they all have fat-laden pay packages as most teachers/administrators do… Most cry poor, but take 2 months off every summer… Disgusting.
October 27th, 2009 @ 8:40 am
One thing about canceling class is that it gets everyone’s attention. Whether it really solves anything or provides an opportunity for future reforms remains to be seen. If schools make the most of the four-day weeks that have been established, achievement may not be impacted all that badly. If that is the case, then people may wonder why they were paying all that extra money for the 17 days. It should be interesting to see how this plays out in the coming months.
November 3rd, 2009 @ 9:25 am
The problem is (that) the people that pay the taxes paid for 17 days worth of education. The children nor the parents are getting a return on investment on those 17 days they’ve paid for. It is a case of school officials’ living beyond the means of the district and unwilling to accept it. In the economic heyday, they could do this. The NEA and the administration are at fault on this one, and the kids and taxpayers are suffering.