| Hawai'i State PTSA 765 Amana Street, Suite 308 Honolulu, HI 96814 Phone: (808) 943-2042 Fax: (808) 945-2042 Email: histateptsa@hawaii.rr.com |
PTA / PTSA Guide to
Furlough Fridays
Furlough Fridays
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| DOE FAQ(s) |
HAWAII PTSA ISSUE STATEMENT OPPOSING FURLOUGH DAYS
(Students to lose significant instructional education hours due to unpaid teacher furlough days)
Hawaii State Parent Teacher Student Association opposes a newly two-year ratified teacher
contract that requires educators to take 17 or 21 unpaid furlough days off, and result in
decreased instruction time.
The Hawaii PTSA is concerned furlough Fridays has resulted in the children of Hawaii losing
significant educational hours targeted towards student achievement.
While HSPTSA understands Hawaii's current governmental shortfalls, today over 60% of
Hawaii's public schools have not met average yearly progress under Federal Legislation, “No
child Left Behind or NCLB". HSPTSA feels reducing instructional time will only add to the
challenge of meeting AYP, IDEA requirements for special education students and that may result
in severe unintended consequences.
We strongly encourage all parents, teachers and administrators of every public, non-charted
school to work together towards applying to the Board of Education and HSTA for a waiver to
replace furlough Fridays with other non-instructional days such as the seven teacher
collaboration/planning, or waiver days.
We would like our Legislators and Governor Lingle to seriously consider using a portion of the
state’s "rainy day" fund to support the return of education instructional days to the children of
Hawaii Public Schools. And for the future, the development of laws that ‘earmark’ public funds
for education in our state similar to funds that are ‘earmarked’ for our highways. Hawaii's
government and union leaders must come together to better manage spending to avoid
balancing budgets on the backs of Hawaii's children.
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
PTA/PTSA?.
Answer: Yes. Each unit in good standing has their own limit of 1 million per occurrence
and 2 million aggregate.
B. Do PTA/PTSA need to purchase additional liability coverage when paying for part-time Teachers
to teach on furlough Fridays?
Answer: No. However, as an "employer" a local unit will need to purchase workers
compensation insurance to cover paid staff if injured on the job. In addition local units
may need to pay federal and state payroll taxes, conduct background checks, etc. Local
Units are encouraged to contact the State Department of Labor and Tax offices for details
relative to their specific program.
C. Are there other alternatives for furlough Fridays?
Answer: Yes. Each Local Unit is encouraged to work with their school's Administrator,
Teachers and School Community Councils to submit an application for HTSA and
BOE approval to convert non- instructional days to student instructional days as
replacement of furlough Fridays.
| Message from Sen. Sakamoto |
| DOE & BOE 9/29/09 Meeting documents |
