PAY CUT BETTER THAN LOSING CLASS TIME

Having been a public school teacher in Hawai'i for more than 27 years I feel the need to express my views regarding the proposed furlough days during this school year.

In all honesty, I would rather take the pay cut of 7.9 percent and work those 17 days than be denied the time with my students and still lose 7.9 percent of my pay. The result of cutting those days out of the academic calendar will mean that I have to work even harder during my already packed school days to provide the needed learning opportunities for my students.

Balancing the state budget at the expense of our children's education is wrong and will have a long-lasting negative effect on our state.

Carla Margenau | Kailua

PEOPLE SUPPORT TAX HIKE FOR EDUCATION

As a public school teacher, I am planning to vote no on the HSTA contract and urge my fellow teachers to do the same.

If the question were posed to the public whether they would rather pay higher taxes or see schools closed, I believe the citizens of Hawai'i would choose keeping schools open. For a time, I moved to Virginia and in a referendum, the county I lived in voted over 70 percent to increase school funding.

I do not believe that the people of Hawai'i love their children less or do not value education. But I also hold the BOE accountable in a $2.4 billion budget: Couldn't they have found other ways to trim the budget other than school closings and cutting teachers' salaries? Since only teachers can vote, my vote will be for education and for teachers; that vote will be no on the contract.

Corey Rosenlee | 'Ewa Beach

GIVING UP HOLIDAYS COULD BE BETTER PLAN

The HSTA and Lingle have reached a tentative agreement at the expense of the children and parents (of public school children) in Hawai'i. The children will suffer from a mediocre school system struggling to meet federal education standards. With this agreement on furloughs, Hawai'i's keiki will be shortchanged even more by having fewer school days during the year. Additionally, parents of Hawai'i's public school keiki will be forced to make child care arrangements during the furlough Fridays. Did the negotiators even consider the negative impact to our keiki's education?

During the negotiations, did either party consider taking furlough days on the state's 11 paid holidays? Furloughs on holidays would be a win-win for all involved parties. Granted, it wouldn't be a cure-all, but it would be a more beneficial compromise for Hawai'i's keiki and their families.

John Sylvester | Honolulu

CUTS WILL REDUCE VALUABLE CLASS TIME

As a teacher on the Leeward Coast, I believe the decision to furlough teachers is a step backward for public education in Hawai'i.

Nationally, students have on average 175-185 days in a school year with approximately six hours to each school day. In Hawai'i, public schools on average have 178 days a school year, with students attending 6 hours a day (except Wednesdays, which are half days).

Under the furlough plan, students in Hawai'i will be attending school only 161 days a year. It is unreasonable to expect students that attend school nearly 15 percent less than their national counterparts to learn as much content and to perform as well on standardized tests as other students around the United States.

With Hawai'i already ranking in the bottom fifth of education statistics in the United States, we need to begin to prioritize the education of Hawai'i's youth. By eliminating learning time for Hawai'i students, we are simply accepting the fact that education in Hawai'i is unimportant, and allowing our children to believe so as well.

Gov. Lingle needs to reconsider the decision to furlough teachers, and begin to value the education of our public school students.

Kyna Williams | Wai'anae

HEALTH CARE

INSURANCE EXEC'S CLAIMS UNFOUNDED

I have yet to understand opponents of the president's proposal for a public health insurance option as part of health care reform.

John Henry Felix, a health insurance executive, expresses skepticism about government's ability to run an efficient health care system, yet the government runs several: Medicare operates with much lower overhead than private insurance companies, such as the one that pays his salary.

He says the government can't get Medicare right, despite repeated surveys which show seniors give high grades to their Medicare. He cites the low reimbursement rates for Medicare and Medicaid, failing to note that the Democratic health reform proposals increase the reimbursement rates for Medicare, after years of starving by the Republican-controlled Congresses (while beefing up heavily government-subsidized Medicare Advantage plans run by private companies).

Insurance executive Felix was allowed to get away with bamboozlement in his interview.

Meg McGowan | Honolulu

SHARK TOURS

STUDY SHOWS NO INCREASED RISK

I am obliged to respond to Greg Knudsen's inaccurate characterization of our research paper concerning North Shore shark tours. Three points: 1) The paper was not based solely on data from tour operators. 2) The operators' information was provided prior to the recent turmoil; there was no incentive for false reporting. 3) The paper was only published after review by independent experts. Soon-to-be-published results of shark tracking research show that sharks found at the tour sites don't come close to shore.

Several elected officials such as Mr. Knudsen took public positions on this topic before they had sufficient objective information or after listening to "instant experts." Apparently, ego now prevents them from changing their minds even though the scientific facts do not support their opinions. Objective data indicate that the tours do not cause increased risk to humans and do not significantly impact the biology of sharks. The tours do provide local employment and they probably increase the general public's appreciation of marine life and how worthy these resources are of our respect and protection.

Kim Holland, Ph.D. | Researcher, Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology