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Hawaii Braces for Educational Impact of Furloughs

Loss of Instructional Time Likely to Exact Harsh Toll on Learning, Officials Say

Hawaii educators are bracing for the instructional damage expected from the state’s budget-driven decision to effectively cut school days from the calendar over the next two years and put thousands of teachers on unpaid furlough for those days .

In order to fill a state education budget hole of $468 million over two years, teachers have agreed to 34 unpaid furlough days. Those on a 10-month schedule will take 17 unpaid days in 2009-10 and another 17 in 2010-11, while year-round teachers will have 21 such furlough days per year built into their schedule, averaging out to a 7.94 percent pay cut for both groups.

The plan, which includes a no-layoff provision, will only affect noncharter school teachers in...