The Hawaii State Student Council released a statement today supporting Gov. Linda Lingle’s plan to end “furlough Fridays.”

The council is the official voice of the 178,000 public school students and has been active in working with lawmakers as well as the public in protesting furloughs in the 2009-2011 biennium.
“The situation is dire,” said Hawaii State Student Council member Mark Aoki. “Hawaii’s educational system has become the laughingstock in the nation. There is nothing funny about mortgaging our future by shortchanging the children of today. We need a solution.”
The students feel Lingle’s plan, which seeks to use the rainy day fund, values students’ learning in the classroom.
Since September, students have lobbied state lawmakers and education officials to find alternative ways to solve the education budget shortfall. They are also hoping union contract talks resume.