State senators on a special legislative committee examining public teacher furloughs yesterday said they want to urge Gov. Linda Lingle to make use of $35 million in federal stimulus money that is entirely under her control.

The money, they say, has yet to be spent and could cover the cost of some furlough days if given to the state Department of Education. The state saves about $5 million a day for each furlough Friday.

"A missing component at the table is the governor. Whether we agree or not, she has discretion over these funds. Hopefully all parties are willing to take a look at how we can quickly restore (furlough days)," said Sen. Jill Tokuda, a member of the state Senate's Special Committee to consider furloughs.

Schools Superintendent Patricia Hamamoto told the senators that the DOE would be willing to renegotiate the furlough days as soon as money is available to put teachers back in the classroom.

While lawmakers and education officials appear to believe those federal stimulus dollars could be used to cover furloughs, Gov. Linda Lingle's office said the money was already appropriated in the last legislative session and that some of it is being spent on education improvements required under the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

"We would have to undo spending that is already taking place," said Linda Smith, Lingle's senior policy adviser.

Smith was not specific about where the money was being spent.

James Brese, chief financial officer for the DOE, said Smith is incorrect. He said the DOE has not had access to any of the money.

"The Legislature put it in to our federal government funding ceilings, but it's something the governor has yet to allocate to us," Brese said. "Right now it's totally at her discretion."

The BOE, teachers and Lingle agreed in September to a new contract that included 17 furlough days, equivalent to a 7.9 percent pay cut. The furlough days are all scheduled for Fridays — Nov. 30 is the fourth of the 17 scheduled furlough days — and have reduced the number of instructional days to 163, the lowest in the nation.

The furlough days were part of the DOE's plan to address some $227 million in cuts mandated by Lingle and lawmakers. Those cuts include about $127 million cut by Lingle in a 14 percent budget restriction equivalent to three furlough days a month.

OTHER OPTIONS

Lawmakers also appear to believe that the money is available, and several senators yesterday said they wanted the governor to use the money to restore some of the furlough days.

Sen. Will Espero, D-20th ('Ewa Beach, Waipahu), vice chairman of the committee, said lawmakers do not have the authority to tell the governor how to spend the $35 million, also known as the "government services," or Part B of the federal State Fiscal Stabilization Fund.

Espero requested that the DOE and the state Board of Education send letters to the governor to urge her to use the money to reduce the furlough days.

There are other options available to lawmakers, including using the Hurricane Relief Fund or increasing the excise tax.

"The possibility of a special session still exists," Espero said, adding that so far there is no agreement among lawmakers on how to restore days to the school calendar. "We need to do some serious discussion , meetings, and see if we'll be able to salvage this school year."

Sen. Fred Hemmings, R-25th (Kailua, Waimänalo, Hawai'i Kai), faulted Hamamoto and state Board of Education Chairman Garrett Toguchi over the decision to furlough teachers in the first place.

"It appears to me that the DOE is attempting to have us come back into session — by putting pressure on us by keeping the kids out of school — to raise taxes," Hemmings said.

Prior to the governor's 14 percent budget cut of $127 million to public education, lawmakers had appropriated $104 million in federal stimulus funds, known as Part A of the federal State Fiscal Stabilization Funds. That money was set aside to plug budgetary holes created during the legislative session, education officials said.

"I'd like to clarify that neither the board, nor the department cut the funds that created this furlough issue. It was the restriction imposed by the governor," Toguchi said. "Prior to the restriction, we were whole."