An idea pitched by the governor to reduce or eliminate teacher furlough days by swapping them with a 5 percent pay cut for teachers has generated little interest among key union and education officials and lawmakers.

In response to questions about options for restoring classroom instruction time lost to furloughs, Gov. Linda Lingle last week told reporters that the state Department of Education, the school board and the teachers union could reopen contract talks and agree to a 5 percent pay cut instead of the days off.

But the Hawaii State Teachers Association said yesterday that the proposal would not save the DOE enough to make up for the $227 million in cuts mandated by Lingle and lawmakers.

"To make up for the 14 percent funding cut the governor imposed on the education budget, it was necessary for the teachers and other state employees who work in our schools to take an 8 percent pay cut and for the DOE to completely shut down the schools and the Department of Education for 17 days," HSTA President Wil Okabe said in a written statement

Okabe said the governor has not officially proposed to HSTA that the contract be reopened and a 5 percent pay cut be considered.

"A 5 percent pay cut by HSTA yields only a fraction of the savings DOE achieved in our current contract. Where does the governor propose to find the additional funds to make up the balance of the 14 percent education deficit she singlehandedly created?" he said.

Russell Pang, spokesman for the governor, said Lingle made the suggestion on Oct. 28 as an example of one option she would be willing to support. She has said she would not support a special session of the state Legislature, use of special funds or raising the general excise tax.

"She's letting the DOE take the lead on this," Pang said.

If the contract were renegotiated and a 5 percent cut agreed to, "the DOE would still need to find somewhere else to reduce its budget," he said. "That 5 percent pay cut was one way to minimize the furlough days."

Superintendent Patricia Hamamoto declined comment yesterday. However, she has said she would be willing to reopen the teachers contract if money were available to offset the furlough days.

Garrett Toguchi, chairman of the Board of Education, was unavailable for comment yesterday. But BOE spokesman Alex Da Silva said members would need more details from the governor.

"I don't know if the board would be able to cut much more without stripping the schools of their resources," Da Silva said. "The board would have to find the remainder in programs that directly affect students."

'IT'S AN ULTIMATUM'

HSTA members on Sept. 22 ratified a contract that called for 17 days of furloughs, equal to a 7.9 percent pay cut.

The furloughs are to be taken over a series of Fridays — and began Oct. 23 — with the third furlough day scheduled for tomorrow.

The furloughs reduce the school year to 163 instructional days, which leaves Hawaii with the shortest school year in the country.

Since furloughs were announced, outraged parents and community members have rallied for lawmakers to restore the school days through legislative means. It takes two-thirds of both the House and Senate to convene a special session.

State Rep. Roy Takumi, chairman of the House Education Committee, said the House majority will meet in caucus tomorrow to discuss the public school furloughs. However, Takumi said he opposes a special session unless a specific plan emerges.

"The goal is to reduce the number of furlough days. As of today, there is no collective agreement on how to accomplish that," he said.

Takumi said if the teachers union were to accept a 5 percent pay cut, the DOE would likely have to lay off employees and teachers to make up for the additional portion of its budget restrictions.

"That is not a solution based on collaboration or consensus. It's an ultimatum," he said.

Takumi said the only parties that have the ability to reduce the number of furlough days are those represented at the bargaining table — the governor , the superintendent of schools, the school board and the union.

Of the $227 million in cuts to the public school system mandated by Lingle, the state Board of Education voted to seek only $117 million in furloughs and labor savings, while cutting the rest in programs and school-level funding.

It is estimated that the state saves some $5 million a day by furloughing school employees and shutting down the entire system of 256 campuses. The savings come not only in salaries, but from the operating costs such as utilities, transportation and lunch service.