Failure Fridays

HONOLULU—Hawai'i Republican Party Chairman Jonah Ka'auwai released the following statement today:

“Hawai'i Democrats and public worker unions continue to show their true colors as Furlough “Failure” Fridays continue across the state. Republicans have consistently offered feasible and realistic solutions to bring back instructional time for Hawai'i’s public schools, but those solutions continually stall at the feet of the self-serving public unions bosses.

“House Republicans called for a reopening of negotiations and presented long-term solutions with the Keiki Investment and Development of Schools (KIDS) Act of 2010, which outlined greater accountability and fiscal transparency of the Department of Education (DOE).  Nothing happened. 

“Lt. Governor Duke Aiona as acting governor called for the three other negotiators in the “Furlough Friday” contract, Hawai'i State Teacher’s Association Board of Education (BOE) and DOE to reopen negotiations and restore instructional time to Hawai'i’s students.  They refused, citing a lack of financial support.

“Gov. Lingle offered to meet the unions half way, presenting a clear and simple plan. However, unions keep stonewalling instead of working toward a solution.  With discussions stalled until mid-December, public unions bosses are showing their priorities do not lie with Hawai'i’s children.  They simply ignore the financial reality the rest of Hawai'i has already begun to face.  Instead of reallocating from the DOE/BOE bureaucracy, these uncaring public union leaders are mercilessly pulling more money from teachers’ pockets and valuable class time from students.

“The union bosses and their Democrat puppets in the legislature have, once again, failed the people of Hawai'i.”

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