School closures capture attention from across globe - Hawaii News - Starbulletin.com:
"It is not the kind of publicity Hawaii wants, but the state's decision to shut public schools for 17 Furlough Fridays has made a big media splash."
"Hawaii's Children, Left Behind," declared the headline of a New York Times editorial. At the Washington Post, education columnist Jay Mathews wrote a piece with the scathing title "Idiocy in Paradise: Hawaii Handles School Budget Cuts Badly."
National television networks have spotlighted the story, along with TIME, the Wall Street Journal and National Public Radio. And the news has gone global. The Guardian of London and the BBC both covered it. A Chinese-language Web site highlighted "Hawaii's Budget Cut: No School Fridays." And Radio Australia recently interviewed the head of the state Board of Education.
Board Chairman Garrett Toguchi said the news coverage tends to sensationalize the issue, but "if the negative press encourages our leaders to put education at the top of our priority list, I'm more than happy to accept it.
"Nobody's happy with having to furlough teachers and have less instructional days," Toguchi said. "But that ignores the economic reality. The economy is not getting any better. So instead of worrying about what we don't have, we need to figure out how we're going to mitigate the continuing negative impacts on the budget next year."
"It is not the kind of publicity Hawaii wants, but the state's decision to shut public schools for 17 Furlough Fridays has made a big media splash."
"Hawaii's Children, Left Behind," declared the headline of a New York Times editorial. At the Washington Post, education columnist Jay Mathews wrote a piece with the scathing title "Idiocy in Paradise: Hawaii Handles School Budget Cuts Badly."
National television networks have spotlighted the story, along with TIME, the Wall Street Journal and National Public Radio. And the news has gone global. The Guardian of London and the BBC both covered it. A Chinese-language Web site highlighted "Hawaii's Budget Cut: No School Fridays." And Radio Australia recently interviewed the head of the state Board of Education.
Board Chairman Garrett Toguchi said the news coverage tends to sensationalize the issue, but "if the negative press encourages our leaders to put education at the top of our priority list, I'm more than happy to accept it.
"Nobody's happy with having to furlough teachers and have less instructional days," Toguchi said. "But that ignores the economic reality. The economy is not getting any better. So instead of worrying about what we don't have, we need to figure out how we're going to mitigate the continuing negative impacts on the budget next year."