Hawai'i’s Keiki are Getting the Short end of the stick

Hawai ' i’s teachers and students were sold short.  Instead of fiscally responsible, creative solutions to cutting its budget, the DOE and BOE did what was politically opportune and the keiki of Hawai ' i are suffering because of it.

We are being distracted from the fundamental problem-- Hawai ' i’s families don’t get what we pay for when it comes to education:

• Only 66.6% of the DOE budget makes it to the classroom level ($1.6 of the $2.4 billion education budget)

• There are 34,000 full time employees and only 11,226 are classroom teachers

Why did the DOE and BOE allow children’s learning and teachers’ salaries be the first to go? Why aren’t resources outside of the classroom being trimmed instead?

Simply put, Hawai ' i’s teachers and students are pawns in a larger game of political power and control.  The discussion today should be about the DOE’s massive waste and ways to trim it instead of what our children will be doing for the 17 days off.

Union bosses must be exposed for the shameful acts of political bargaining in which they engage.  Unions should be working to benefit teachers and students, not enhance their own political power.  The good people of Hawai ' i, both union and non-union, must stand up for what is right.  Our children deserve better.

Jonah Ka'auwai

State Chairman, Hawai'i Republican Party