Board of Education chairwoman Karen Knudsen yesterday urged parents to make alternate plans for their children, but stopped short of saying schools would definitely close if there's a walkout.

She said that would be premature because talks continue between the state and the Hawaii State Teachers' Association, and both sides have expressed hope for a settlement.

However, she acknowledged that the 97.7 percent "yes" vote among teachers to authorize the strike indicated not many would cross picket lines and "in that case it would be difficult" to keep schools open. Schools closed during the last teachers' strike, in 1973.

Knudsen did say that many major programs - including A+ After-School Care - would be canceled for the duration of the strike if there is one. All school-sponsored activities would generally be canceled, as well, although some exceptions could be made.

There are more than 188,000 public school students, including about 25,000 in A+.

All school employees other than HSTA Unit 05 members (teachers, counselors and school librarians) are required to work during a strike, Knudsen said. That includes principals, vice principals, office staff and others.

But a spokesman for their union, said that while they would go to work, they would not assume any teaching duties. And since education department officials have already said there are not enough substitute teachers in the state to safely supervise all students, it is likely most schools would close unless many teachers association members crossed picket lines.

"That's not going to happen. Teachers are very united on this. At our school we have 100 percent solidarity," said Carol Nitta, a kindergarten teacher at Enchanted Lake Elementary School and a veteran of the 1973 strike.

Also yesterday, schools began sending letters home with students saying "every reasonable effort" would be made to keep schools open, but that the "health, safety, and welfare" of the children would be the primary concern. The letters urged parents to make contingency plans and to discuss the situation with their children.

Some parents said they were reluctant to send their kids to school during a strike even if classes were offered.

"I think I'd have them go someplace else because I don't really want them to be exposed to that kind of atmosphere," said Ron Spotts, who has an 8-year-old daughter and 15-year-old and 16-year-old boys in public schools.

"It's going to be pretty difficult. I'd really like to see them resolve it before it gets to that," he said, after reading the letter describing how students may have to cross picket lines, deal with canceled activities and cope with general conflict.

The Honolulu City and County Parks and Recreation Department is prepared to offer daytime child-care alternatives. Honolulu Mayor Jeremy Harris responded to Cayetano's call for help by announcing the city would sponsor a free "winter fun" program that could accommodate about 13,000 kids a day if schools closed. Meanwhile, following directions from the state Department of Education, principals met with their staffs yesterday to go over everything from picket line etiquette to how to reconcile hard feelings once a strike was over. "I'm sure the faculty agrees with me that we want to maintain relationships as positively as possible, because after the strike we all have to come back together for the good of the kids," said Farrington High School principal Catherine Payne.

Negotiations between the union and the state were to resume this evening and were expected to continue through the weekend.

Cayetano said the state would have to raise taxes to pay for raises demanded by teachers. The teachers association has sought 3.7 percent retroactive raises across-the-board for the past two years. It also wants step increases averaging 3.3 percent a year.

But after examining the state's books for the past two days, union leaders say they still believe the state can afford more than it has offered so far: a four-year pact with no retroactive pay increases, a 4 percent pay increase in 1997-98 and another 4 percent in 1998-99. The state also wants to pay teachers 2.73 percent more to add five instructional days next year and another 2.66 percent to add five more days in 1998-99.

The union has yet to formally submit a four-year counteroffer.