Congressman Neil Abercrombie said today he has enlisted the aid of Education Secretary Arne Duncan to help Hawaii schools find ways to avoid cutting instructional days because of furloughs.

“Hawaii is in the midst of an acute education crisis,” Abercrombie said in a statement released by his office. “We are about to rob 17 days from our children’s school year — days they will never get back, days they need to be in school.
“The U.S. Department of Education is working with me to find every potential additional dollar that might be used to keep Hawaii’s public schools open and operating for the full academic year.”
Abercrombie said Duncan will deliver specifics within days outlining funding opportunities available and restating the Obama administration’s strong concerns about cutting instruction time.
Abercombie said Obama has targeted millions of dollars for public schools, but that Hawaii is one of the few school districts in the nation that has not used stimulus funding to lengthen instruction.