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+--- Thread: Help for families on furlough days (/showthread.php?tid=6205)
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Help for families on furlough days - Rob Tucker - 09-25-2009
I have to give the county administration a gold star for this program. It seems to be real recognition that people are having a hard time and the county is in a position to do something about it. Good idea. I reprint the story from the county web site.
Punaweb Moderator.
Mayor Kenoi announces program to help families on furlough days
Friday, September 25, 2009 at 5:35PM
Mayor Billy Kenoi today announced the County is developing a new service modeled on the popular Summer Fun program to provide supervised activities for school-age children during the 17 days that public schools will be closed because of teacher furloughs.
“We understand the teacher furloughs triggered by the state’s budget problems present a severe hardship for working parents, and our Parks & Recreation staff has been at work all week developing a child care alternative,” Mayor Kenoi said. “We will provide parents with safe places where they can leave their children during the work day, and parents will know their kids will be engaged in fun, supervised activities.”
“Our working families are already under stress during these difficult times, and scrambling to find safe child care on furlough days will only add to the worry,” Mayor Kenoi said. “This low-cost, island-wide program will be good for our youth, and will offer relief to their parents.”
County Parks officials are in discussions with community organizations and churches that are willing to partner with the county to provide supervised activities for students on the furlough days. The County will also recruit volunteers from school A-Plus programs to help staff the County program because those volunteers have already completed background checks and other screening. Other volunteers are also being sought for the new program.
Plans call for the County to open and staff gyms, community centers and other recreational facilities to operate the new program from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on teacher furlough days. Parents would pay a fee of $5 to $10 per child per furlough day to cover some of the cost of the program.
The County plans to adhere to the Summer Fun guideline of one adult supervisor for 20 children, which means staffing shortages could limit enrollment in the County program at some facilities. Parks officials are polling public school officials to try to obtain estimates of how many children are likely to participate.
The County is also investigating what adjustments in the County’s free Hele-On Bus service may be appropriate to accommodate the new program, Mayor Kenoi said.
More details about the program will be released late next week after the County has gathered more data on how many participants are likely to enroll, and which community and church groups will join with the county to provide services, Mayor Kenoi said.
“We want working parents to know they will have an alternative on teacher furlough days, and know their children will have a place to go where they will be busy, safe and supervised,” Mayor Kenoi said.
RE: Help for families on furlough days - Kapohocat - 09-26-2009
That's such a interesting idea and applaud someone for being concerned, yet why don't they just charge $5-10 for the furlough day and keep the kids in school? Or am I missing something here?
The state saves money and our county will spend money.
Why Arizona doesn't not have daylight savings time -
When told the reason for daylight savings time, the Old Indian said "Only the government would believe that you could cut a foot off the top of the blanket and sew it to the bottom, and have a longer blanket."
RE: Help for families on furlough days - janeadams - 09-26-2009
Rob, this is also Billy cleaning up after Lingle. He comes out looking good, but we did not see him going to bat for the teachers about furlough days during the lay-off process, so I think this is opportunistic on his part. "Hey, I can look like I care about people and we get volunteers to do basically everything." The contrast is doing nothing, but, early in the process, urging that education not be a sacrificial goat for Lingle's decisions would have been a better foundation for these relatively positive actions.
Jane and Pete
RE: Help for families on furlough days - leilaniguy - 09-26-2009
deleted
RE: Help for families on furlough days - malolo - 09-26-2009
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Hawaii State Senators' Contact Information
http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/site1/senate/members/members.asp
State of Hawaii House of Representatives -- Contact Information
http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/site1/house/members/members.asp
Forgive me, Rob. I know about the site's Puna-only rule. However, since you get readers from all over, I'm including contact information for all areas of the state. It's imperative that folks throughout Hawaii make their wishes known; contact their state legislators with ideas.
To my way of thinking, a teensy hike in the General Excise Tax seems a ridiculously easy fix.
Ohhh....and I hope you don't mind, but I'm duplicating this "Contact Information" message on the other Teacher Furlough thread as well. In hopes of driving the message home. People need to pipe up. Drag those part-time legislators with their 36%-pay-raise, kicking and screaming, back into session.
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RE: Help for families on furlough days - Rob Tucker - 09-26-2009
It's not a Puna only rule. The rule is to keep it Hawaii.
RE: Help for families on furlough days - Devany - 09-27-2009
There is also a whole new business surge all over the islands for places to take in kids for the day, some are offering classes, cultural experiences and martial arts. Sounds like a way to boost the economy and give some people part time jobs, help parents and possibly even enrich the lives of hawaii's youngest citizens.
Aloha au i Hawai`i,
devany
www.myhawaiianhome.blogspot.com
www.eastbaypotters.blogspot.com
RE: Help for families on furlough days - Bullwinkle - 09-27-2009
I was thinking along the same lines. A good opportunity for field trips & learning activities. I think it would be smart politically for the union members and available parents to volunteer for those days. Lead the activities to enrich rather than walk away on those 17 days.
Then from the moral high ground they would be in good position to engage the state .... its not only educators taking a hit these last few years... we have all been forced to be more creative or scale back our lifestyles a notch or four - pained grin
Just talked to brother in so ca. He is still getting plenty applications from 4 year degreed folks - for an 8.50 an hour job.....
just my 2 cents
coffee finished, manana
RE: Help for families on furlough days - Carey - 09-27-2009
A couple of thoughts:
One of the big savings is to close the school buildings & grounds during the furlough days, but some communities have the park dist. programs in their school buildings.... so are these communities not going to have assistance while others do? Or are some school grounds going to be open while others are not....
Some of the school complexes will be limiting even more, and possibly eliminating field trips and other "non-instructional" days... perhaps community groups (and even some of the readers here on Punaweb that have the time to volunteer) can pick up the slack & volunteer at some of the many cultural organizations in our communities & volunteer to create programs... (the cost of developing, maintaining & providing these programs is normally not feasible for many of these organizations, but if there are enough willing to volunteer, and esp. those willing to assist in funding, I am sure there are many who would greatly benefit at this time.
ETA: To the call of $10 per student: in a school with 600 students, $10 would generate $6,000. 25-30 staff members (minimum) for the day plus the support staff to keep the facilities open.... the $10 figure doesn't look as reasonable, just bare bones, no meals, no supplies, very minimum utilies... $5-??? HOW???... most day cares charge much more that $10 per day because the base cost per child is more than $10 per day.
RE: Help for families on furlough days - jade - 09-27-2009
Thanks for letting us know about the program they want to implement.
Summer fun is a great program but it only goes up to 6th grade. The real problem will be what to do with middle and high school age kids. More time on there hands won't be good. Sadly they will be used as ginny pigs for statisical info. Will pregnancy rates rise, crime rates ect.
Jade