Schools could close for four to six extra days per year in a money-saving move that would trim budgets without resorting to layoffs or program cuts, according to a proposal put forward yesterday by Superintendent Patricia Hamamoto.

"We've worked out ways where we didn't have to do traditional cuts," she said. "This is an (option) for us to look at, so that, in the future when the economy turns around again, we can still build back up ... our schools."

Hamamoto offered four "conceptual" scenarios to save money, including one which asks teachers to donate four days of work per year without pay.

"This sounds like a pay cut to me," said Roger Takabayashi, president of the Hawaii State Teachers Association.

Hamamoto acknowledged that the proposals would require negotiations with labor unions. "Are the unions going to be open to this?" she said. "It would mean that their members would still have a job during these tough times."

Hamamoto came up with the four scenarios to meet a request from Gov. Linda Lingle that the Board of Education plan for cutting as much as 20 percent, or $69 million, from its discretionary budget.

On Oct. 10, the board sent the governor a $45.6 million budget-cut proposal, warning that a reduction of $69 million would cripple school-level programs and staff positions.

State finance director Georgina Kawamura told the board to come back with a plan for the full $69 million in cuts.

Donna Ikeda, BOE chairwoman, yesterday questioned whether that was necessary.

"I really would like to know how many of the other departments in this state have reduced their budgets up to 20 percent," Ikeda said. "If they haven't, I think the DOE (Department of Education) is unfairly taking a larger share of the burden."

UP TO $25M IN SAVINGS

Hamamoto's four proposals save between $15.8 million and $25 million.

One of her proposals is to eliminate the four teacher professional development days that schools receive each year. Instead, schools would be closed, and teachers would not be paid. This option would not affect the days that students receive classroom instruction because they already get those four days off.

The option would save the DOE $15.8 million, she said.

Takabayashi, of the teacher's union, said the union had no knowledge of Hamamoto's proposals. However, he said each proposal amounted to a pay cut.

"I know drastic measures have to be taken, and I don't know if there are still other alternatives as well," Takabayashi said.

Takabayashi said the union's position on budget cuts has been that they should be as far away from the classroom as possible.

"Are there more functionalities at the upper level that can be cut in order to continue services in the schools?" he said.

Board member John Penebacker said he was concerned that there may not be enough time to negotiate the options with the various employee unions.

"This is a timing issue for the governor. She needs to put together her budget" in the next few weeks, he said.

STATE DEFICIT SEVERE

The board has not yet scheduled a meeting to discuss Hamamoto's proposals.

In an Oct. 31 memo sent to Ikeda, Kawamura said that updated tax revenue projections put the state's total deficit at more than $1.1 billion by the end of 2011.

"Given the severity of our fiscal situation, all possible remedies must be explored," Kawamura wrote. "While we may or may not take action on the higher reduction levels ... (we) will need to review all possible solutions to resolve our fiscal challenge."

On Oct. 9, the board voted 11-1 to approve a budget reduction plan that eliminates about 240 state and district positions, including physical therapists, resource teachers and speech pathologists. Included in the cuts was money for athletic supplies and equipment, alternative learning centers and science textbooks.

The cuts are part of a request by Lingle that all state agencies come up with 10 percent, 15 percent and 20 percent budget-cut scenarios for their 2009-11 discretionary budgets.

The DOE already had cut about $20 million from its budget, including a $10.2 million cut by lawmakers in this year's Legislature. The BOE recently approved $9.3 million in budget cuts to meet 4 percent across-the-board reductions imposed by Lingle.