Just when parents thought things in Hawaii's public schools couldn't get much worse, Department of Education officials warned yesterday that "thousands" of DOE employees will be laid off if a federal judge blocks teacher furloughs.

An attorney for those opposing the furloughs called the threat of layoffs an attempt to whip up "hysteria."

And parents who have rallied against the furlough plan called the potential for thousands of layoffs an even scarier scenario for the state's public education system.

"They're talking about educational quality, and part of this is based on student-to-teacher ratio," said Vernadette Gonzales, whose child attends Noelani Elementary School in Mänoa.

Schools Superintendent Pat Hamamoto and other education officials told Board of Education committee members yesterday that if the furloughs are overturned, the layoffs will be in the "multiple thousands" and center on probationary teachers, administrators and others. Tenured and special education teachers would not be laid off, Hamamoto said.

The number of layoffs would be "a couple thousand or more," she said at the budget committee meeting.

Some 22,000 people work for the Department of Education. About 13,000 are teachers.

Hamamoto added, after the meeting, that layoffs would probably be the first option — ahead of ending the school year early. And she warned that layoffs could affect the quality of education students get, perhaps more than furloughs.

"Layoffs mean we're going to have to increase the size of the classroom," she said, adding that the amount of time spent in the classroom is less important than "the quality of education I'm giving that child."

'TREMENDOUS' CUTS

Though DOE employees have long been under threat of layoffs, yesterday was the first time DOE officials have given the public an idea of how many jobs would be cut to satisfy the department's budget restriction and help the state reduce its shortfall.

If furloughs are halted, the options for saving money are not good, said a head of the state teacher union.

"The DOE has taken tremendous budget cuts over the past year and is now facing $478 million in cuts over the next two years. This leaves stark choices should the furloughs be canceled," Dwight Takeno, interim executive director of the Hawaii State Teachers Association, said in a statement.

The DOE has an annual budget of about $1.8 billion.

"During our negotiations, we looked at every combination and permutation of budget reduction measures and believe that one we chose is the least harmful — painful and disruptive though it may be," Takeno said.

The layoffs, Hamamoto and other DOE officials said, will likely be imminent if U.S. District Judge David Ezra rules in favor of a challenge to the furlough plan, filed on behalf of special education students. A hearing on the case is set for Nov. 4.

Yesterday, Eric Seitz, one of the attorneys representing those suing over the furlough plan, called the threat of layoffs an attempt to scare parents and teachers. "Whipping up this hysteria is absolutely irresponsible," he said. "I think it's horrible for them to take that position."

Meanwhile, parents said the layoffs would be another devastating blow to public schools.

Gonzales helped organize a protest at Noelani on the first "furlough Friday." Other parents are planning a repeat at Kähala Elementary School tomorrow as public school teachers prepare for their second of 17 furlough days.

She said discussing layoffs as the first option if furloughs are scrapped "really reflects the poverty of imagination of the Department of Education on where to cut."

At the BOE meeting yesterday, several members also questioned the furloughs — and the threat of layoffs — and asked whether more cuts couldn't be made to DOE services outside of schools.

"We've been accused all along about this bloated bureaucracy at the top," said BOE member Mary Cochran, adding that she thinks some offices at the DOE are duplicated or unneeded. "Are there any sacred cows at the top that we can seriously look at before you lay off a teacher?" she asked.

TOUGH DECISIONS

But board member Breene Harimoto said the reality is that the DOE is facing tough budget decisions.

"We all understand that the state's economic crisis has not bottomed out yet," he said. "Who know what's going to happen tomorrow or next week?"

The 17 furlough days for public schools over the course of the school year was drawn up as an emergency fix to help close the state's massive budget gap.

The plan was ratified in September by HSTA members and is projected to save $5 million per furlough day.

The second furlough day in the plan will be tomorrow, canceling classes for some 170,000 public school students.

James Brese, assistant superintendent for fiscal services, told BOE members yesterday that before the furloughs, most of the cuts at the DOE were centered on the state office and complex areas — not schools.

"We sometimes get criticized that we have so much administration," he said. "But most of the dollars remaining in the budget is at the school" level.

He added that the DOE could eliminate every position in its state office and complex areas, "and it's still not enough to meet the targeted restrictions we were given."