For Immediate Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 18, 2001

Contact: Rep. Galen Fox Tel.: [phone]

GOP to Governor and HSTA:

"End the Strike and Start Reforms!"

House Republicans called upon Governor Cayetano and the HSTA to conclude their negotiations and end the teachers' strike. Republicans said now that the UHPA contract is settled; the sides should bring the teacher's strike to a quick and acceptable resolution.

Rep. Barbara Marumoto is calling for a speedy resolution to the strike. "I am hoping for a win/win solution whereby teachers receive significant pay raises while management receives some concessions too. Republicans have long been proposing reforms in governance, statutes and procedures in order to derive funds to pay for the increased salaries."

Once the pay issue is resolved, then "we must address the root cause of the current crisis: education reform," stated Representative Guy Ontai (Mililani). "As a teacher and union organizer, I have seen how positive reforms ultimately serve the best interests of the children, teachers, and principals."

Republican initiatives to implement systematic and meaningful reforms include the following: providing more support for charter schools, creating local school boards to allow greater local control and accountability, and granting administrative flexibility to allow principals to creatively manage their schools.

"This is not rocket-science," said Representative Cynthia Thielen, (Kailua). "We have the solutions; now it's time to act!"

Representative Galen Fox (Waikiki) observed that the strike represents a failure of the Democrats. "They control the governor's office and every key legislative committee that funds or oversees education. We've seen the need for more teacher pay coming for years, but Democrats failed to act in time to save schools, parents, and students. While the Governor bears chief responsibility for the slow pace of negotiations, when he asked his Democratic colleagues to 'back off' from influencing the talks, they meekly agreed, sending education backwards, not forward," stated Fox.

"Our children, our parents, and our teachers demand and deserve better. Republicans have been and are up to the task of education reform," concluded Representative Emily Auwae (Waianae).

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