Parents, students rally on 1st Furlough Friday

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WAILUKU - Emotions ran high for parents and children Friday when as many as 75 people waved handmade signs at motorists in a busy Wailuku intersection to protest public schoolteacher furloughs aimed at easing the state's budget crisis.

Meanwhile, the state's first Furlough Friday left public school classrooms and halls empty, parents looking for alternatives for child care and shopping malls buzzing with activity.

Parents staged the sign-waving protest on High Street in front of the State Building, and tensions ran so high that a former Maui Police Department officer made a citizen's arrest of a protester.

Marc Hodges, the former officer and president of the Hawaii TEA (Tax Enough Already) Party, made a citizen's arrest against a man who Hodges says stole his two rally signs that said: "Tax Enough Already" and "Cut Waste, Not Classes." Hodges said the man assaulted him in a confrontation over the signs.

According to police, Ben Wilson, 31, of Haiku, was arrested and charged with fourth-degree theft and third-degree assault, which are both misdemeanors. Police escorted Wilson away from the rally in handcuffs. He was later released on $300 bail.

Wilson could not be reached for comment.

Hodges said he was surprised at Wilson's actions. He said he told his 6-year-old daughter to stay with the rally organizers while he placed Wilson under citizen's arrest. Police accepted Hodges' citizen's arrest after questioning both men.

Hodges said Wilson returned to the rally after being processed at the Wailuku Police Station and the two "parted on good terms."

"The upshot is people feel strongly about this, and we need to come together to find solutions. We agree there's a problem, now it's time to talk about solutions," Hodges said.

The Hawaii TEA Party suggests ordering the state Department of Education to eliminate waste to save money and stop furloughing teachers. He said the state auditor has reported finding administrative and bureaucratic waste within the public school system.

"We believe that the teacher furloughs were the least useful solution," Hodges said.

Denise Black, a Kihei mother of a 3rd-grade student, Lily, brought paper and pencils for students to write letters to President Barack Obama, opposing Furlough Fridays.

"Our kids want to have an education as much as their parents want them to have it," she said.

The children wrote their letters on the cement ground in front of the State Building while most of the adults conducted sign-waving on the street.

"I have to have school because I'm in kindergarten," Lily wrote in her letter. "Please help our schools."

Matthew, a 3rd-grader at Makawao Elementary School, wrote: "Please fire furloughs."

"We want to learn! Please can there be no Furlough Fridays?" pleaded a 2nd-grader, Kiyo.

Protester Denise Black said she planned to send the children's letters to the White House. And, she wondered whether options other than furloughs were considered.

"Did teachers even have other options?" Black asked.

Last month, the Hawaii State Teachers Association's 13,000-plus members ratified a contract the provided for 17 furlough days this school year and another 23 next year. The reduction in classroom time means about an 8 percent pay cut for public schoolteachers.

Upcountry resident Hei-mana Sherman, the mother of four public school students, said she wants an explanation on how the public school system spends its money.

"Don't take it away from our children, period," she said. "Don't take it away from our children under no circumstances."

Sherman said she's already home on Fridays and can care for her children - a kindergartner, 2nd-grader, 7th-grader and 8th-grader. But she is concerned about families who don't have other child care options and may be forced to leave their teenagers at home unattended.

"I'm a little concerned teenagers will get into trouble," she said.

Upcountry resident Teri Takamura, the mother of a son in the 8th grade, also shared concern about unsupervised adolescents and teenagers on Furlough Fridays.

"Shame on the DOE, shame on the state of Hawaii," Takamura said.

She was especially concerned about whether public schools could maintain their accreditation status if they no longer keep a 180-day school calendar.

"Our current children preparing for college will not be from an accredited high school, thus will not qualify for accredited colleges," she said. "You can be sure that Hawaii will not produce another president."

Takamura distributed about 100 small stickers she made that read: "Just Say No" to Furlough Fridays.

Tina Woodward, the mother of a daughter in the 3rd grade at Makawao Elementary School and a son in the 8th grade at Kalama Intermediate, requested a day off from work so she could be with her children for the first Furlough Friday.

She wore around her neck a cardboard sign cut into the form of a gravestone. The black sign read: "RIP Hawaii Education In Memory of a Quality Education in Hawaii."

Woodward said the rally provided her a venue to publicly protest the teacher furloughs. "The kids are already behind. If they take more classroom time away, it's going to get worse," she said.

Woodward said she's already considering hiring a tutor for her daughter.

"I feel like I'm forced to provide my daughter an education because the schools can't do their job," she said.

Sherman said she already has Fridays off from work.

"I know my kids will be fine," she said. "But it's not the same for everyone. Education will suffer."

Martin Michaeelson, the father of a son in the 7th grade at Kalama Intermediate, said his son slept in Friday.

"He doesn't quite get what it means," Michaeelson said, adding that as an accountant he reviewed some of the Department of Education's budget expenses and could not understand why furloughs had to occur.

"You look at the administrative costs and the number of students and it doesn't match up. It doesn't make sense," he said. "I think the DOE is spending money like it's Monopoly money, and they're not spending it on the kids."

The next Furlough Friday is scheduled for next week.

* Claudine San Nicolas can be reached at claudine@mauinews.com.