Parents against furlough Fridays Rally at the Hawai‘i State Capitol, October 23, 2009.
Senate President Colleen Hanabusa today announced that a Special Committee of the Hawai‘i State Senate will convene to consider the options available to address the question of teacher furloughs.
“I am proud that my colleagues are stepping up with a battery of ideas to solve the teacher furlough problem,” said Senator Hanabusa, “but every option raises questions. We need to look at not only whether money is available, but how we can ensure that any money we appropriate gets released by the governor and goes to education. We also need to answer some fundamental questions about whether any action we take will interfere with a collectively bargained agreement between the state, the DOE, and the teachers’ union. The right to collective bargaining is guaranteed in our state Constitution, so this is a significant concern.”
Hanabusa added that, “The worst thing we can do is build false hopes. We need to act responsibly. This is a complicated situation and a lot of different parties will have to come together to work out a solution. But this committee will get the ball rolling.”
A measure was introduced yesterday that would make it a misdemeanor to own, possess, or sell pit bulls in the State of Hawai`i.
