With the first furlough of public school teachers set for this Friday, many community child care programs are reporting heavy interest from parents, though some parents say they will probably keep their kids home with grandma or older siblings.

Prominent child care providers said last week that interest was high for their specially planned furlough day programs, while some smaller organizations with furlough-related educational opportunities said they were completely full or nearly filled.

When the 17 furlough days of public school teachers were announced some four weeks ago, it set off a firestorm of complaints from parents and a mad scramble by child care providers to provide a place for some 170,000 public school children affected.

Both Kamaäina Kids and YMCA of Honolulu, the largest providers of afterschool child care in the state and now the two most prominent organizations with Furlough Friday programs, said enrollment has been steady since their programs were announced. Still, officials with both programs expect there will be space available on Friday, the first scheduled furlough day.

Meanwhile, some smaller furlough-related educational programs are filling up. Diamond Head Theatre said it is full for the fall semester. Bishop Museum said it is full for the first furlough day.

Some parents say the furlough day programs are too costly. Jolie Moore, whose son attends Stevenson Middle School, said she won't be sending her child to any special program. She's likely to keep him home with his older sister, who is in college.

"I'm worried for the kids that they're not going to get an appropriate education," Moore said.

Similarly, Christine Webster, whose daughter attends Kawänanakoa Intermediate and son attends Pauoa Elementary, said grandma will be helping out on furlough days. Regarding private child care programs, Webster said: "It was not even an option."

The daily cost for the YMCA furlough program ranges from $25 to $36, depending on the location. YMCA will hold its furlough day program at eight branch locations and has also arranged to use Pearl Ridge Elementary School.

"One of the things that is really inspiring about this is, while there are a lot of upset people throughout the state, there are a lot of people pulling together to create a network of providers to fill the need," said Tony Pfaltzgraff, senior vice president for community development for YMCA of Honolulu.

ENROLLMENT 'BRISK'

YMCA officials say they have taken in "more than 100" pre-registrations and fielded hundreds of phone calls from people interested in its program. The program will include "homework time, guidance and enrichment projects, recreational and sports-related activities," according to the YMCA Web site.

Kamaäina Kids president Ray Sanborn said enrollment has been brisk, with heavy interest since the program was announced a couple weeks ago.

"We have 25 locations that we're going to operate all on the first day. After that we'll make adjustments, add in some area where we're not servicing ," he said.

On Saturday, Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann announced a partnership with Kamaäina Kids and the YMCA of Honolulu that will result in child care and activities on furlough days. Kamaäina Kids will offer a daylong program at Käneohe District Park, and the YMCA will offer one at Mänoa District Park. Sign-ups are still being accepted.

Parks in other communities could be added if there's enough demand, Hannemann said.

The YMCA is also hoping to provide more locations on school campuses.

On Sept. 22, the Hawaii State Teachers Association announced that its members had ratified a new collective bargaining agreement that calls for Friday furlough days for about 13,000 teachers at 256 schools, affecting some 170,830 students.

Yesterday, Honolulu attorney Eric Seitz said he planned to seek an injunction in federal court this week to stop the furlough days unless the Department of Education postpones them. State Attorney General MarkBennett said the furloughs would proceed despite the threat of a lawsuit.

Diamond Head Theatre's seven performing arts classes on Furlough Fridays are sold out for the semester, said Deena Dray, executive director.

The 30 spots went quickly, Dray said, but space will be available for the next round of classes next semester.

"Obviously we want to help. We recognize it's a challenging time for parents to find things for their kids to do that have value," Dray said.

While Bishop Museum officials say their furlough program is full for Oct. 23, registrations are still being accepted for other Fridays.

"What we've been hearing is that a lot of parents are keeping their options open since there are a lot of programs around town,"said museum spokeswoman Donalyn Dela Cruz.

Dela Cruz said the program will be led by qualified education staff and volunteers. She also said that the program is tied to the state's curriculum standards, known as the Hawai'i State Content and Performance Standards III.

"This program will teach them lessons that are beneficial to their curriculum,"she said.

Meanwhile, parent organizations have pulled together to provide educational opportunities on days when there will be no school. Some organizations ran into problems, including child care licensing requirements and state ethics rules that apparently prohibit teachers from teaching their students outside of their work schedule.

PARENT GROUPS

Some parent groups have worked around the roadblocks and plan on providing programs on Fridays.

Lylah Reid-Akana, the Parent Teacher Association president at Liholiho Elementary School, said the school would be providing a "learning opportunities program" for $24 a day. The group recently filed for an exemption from child care regulations, is purchasing liability insurance and has enlisted the help of part-time and retired teachers.

"It's just our PTA parents working on it. ... We wanted to provide for our children a place they can go to have more than baby-sitting-type of care," Reid-Akana said.

Sheila Buyukacar, a parent from Kähala Elementary School, is planning a similar program. Because the Parent Teacher Organization at the school opted not to go through with a Furlough Friday program, Buyukacar took it upon herself to plan something. She's hoping to get at least 15 students enrolled for $30 a day, or $210 for the first seven furlough days.

"This all came about because of the parent. A couple of weeks ago, they wanted something engaging and rich in learning and not just child care," she said.