Furlough Fridays - Nov 6, 2009

Again, major issue in the news (Maui News, at least) is furlough Fridays for the state Dept of Education. According to writer Loren Moreno, the result of furlough Fridays equal to a 7.2 percent decrease in pay, less instructional days and positions our state as the only state with the shortest school year. I never took a position on this issue, but today I say, quit the crying, learn to improvise, be flexible and treat this as a temporary solution to a nationwide crisis!At my work place, as soon as we got wind of the spiraling of our economy, immediate action was taken in November 2008! We were instructed to take a mandatory day off without pay every month, and we even work in the administrative office during special hours when our air conditioning system is not running (Mondays and Tuesdays – no air until 10:00am and is turned off at 4:00pm). One year has passed and there is no change simply because our economy dictates this temporary inconvenience. Though economists predict full recovery by 2011, we predict that our state will not see or feel these effects until late 2011, early 2012. Until then, we continue to do the best we can in the present economic climate, and are happy that we at least have a job! The visitor industry is down, which equates to no job opportunities in hotels, restaurants and whatever else is affected by tourism. Construction work is down, and many workers are laid off. People, in general, aren’t spending for services like we used to. The help wanted ads are scarce, and let’s face it! The employment market on Maui is in terrible shape!As for parents, teachers and education staff affected by the furloughs, I totally agree with Moreno that the “savings come not only in salaries, but from the operating costs such as utilities, transportation and lunch service.” Parents will and must find alternative activities for their kids – at no matter what age, and teachers should use this time for instructional planning, something they say they never have time for. The rest of the school system staff must adjust like the rest of us, and make the best of a bad situation.
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