The teachers' union and Department of Education have reached a tentative agreement to reduce teacher furlough days, said Wil Okabe, president of the Hawaii State Teachers Association.

"We have reasonable agreement that will allow us to return students to the classroom, safely," said Okabe, in answer to a question on The Hot Seat, an Advertiser blog.
"We can't provide details until both sides gain approval from their respective leadership," Okabe added. "We will aim to do this as quickly as possible."
Okabe said the agreement involves reducing furlough days, does not require a vote by teachers but does require approval from the Legislature for the funding.
"I can’t discuss the specifics of the tentative agreement until our negotiating committee and Board approve it, but it does reduce the furlough days," he said. "The agreement would be outside the master agreement and would not require another member vote. The Legislature would be involved in approving the funding for this agreement.
Gov. Linda Lingle last month proposed ending the 27 remaining furlough days with a combination of $50 million from the rainy day fund and teachers turning planning days into classroom days.