Cayetano, appearing on KITV this morning, also said he would be opposed to binding arbitration - which would outlaw strikes by teachers - because such a process "only favors one segment of the state's employment force."

With teachers set to go on strike Thursday morning if a settlement isn't reached, Cayetano said negotiators are looking at a four-year proposal rather than a two-year offer.

"We are basically telling the teachers we only have so much money," Cayetano said, "and we want to extend the school year with additional days. We're saying this is how much money we have available; you can front-load it or back-load it, but it has to come out the same."

Joan Husted, lead negotiator for Hawaii State Teachers Association, expressed optimism that "there is still to time settle," agreeing with Cayetano that certain types of financial adjustments will have to be made.

Husted emphasized there is enough money to avoid a teacher's strike and to meet the demands of other public employees.

"We would not be taking our teachers to this kind of action if we thought there was no way for the state to pay what we are asking for," Husted said. "Teachers are taxpayers too ... they don't want to bankrupt the state."

In his television interview today, Cayetano emphasized that a major point in the state's position is adding more school days. "They have always told me over the years that I have asked for longer school days because I have always believed that this has been a fundamental problem that they are willing to work additional days if we will pay them."

Husted, in responding to the governor's insistence in prolonging the school year, acknowledged that this proposal may be a "major sticking point" in the protracted labor negotiations.

Husted said the teachers union has already agreed to the creation of a committee that would study the impact of a longer school year and what such a proposal would cost.

"The idea of simply buying time so we can walk away from the table saying we got the teachers to work longer is not a intelligent way for us, we believe."

She added that no other bargaining units have been told that they are going to get a salary increase by working longer.

As for binding arbitration, Cayetano said it has "really made a mess of this collective bargaining round."

"What we have are arbitrators that take a look at the (pay) issue and only the union before it."

In the case of the teachers, the fact-finding board only reviewed the union's proposal and the state's financial picture without taking into consideration the wage demands of Hawaii's 40,000 other unionized workers. "Then it said yeah the state can give them a 10 percent raise to the exclusion of the state's 40,000 other workers," the governor said. "That's a major flaw in our system."

Cayetano said binding arbitration will work only "if the ground rules of arbitration are restructured because the state is always at a disadvantage. An arbitrator will always find that the state can afford it (pay raises) because he looks at only one segment of state's employment force."

Police, firefighters, and some state workers represented by the Hawaii Government Employees Association and the United Public Workers gave up their right to strike in exchange for binding arbitration.

Registration is under way for children in kindergarten through sixth grade to attend a"Winter Fun" program which will be held if the Hawaii State Teachers Association goes on strike Thursday.

Satellite city halls, fire stations and city parks are making lists for 60 Oahu locations that would accommodate some of the 70,000 students in taht age range. The free program would run from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays.

Though mentioned earlier as a site, Enchanted Lake Community Park will not be available for the contingency program, the city announced.

Volunteers are being sought to supervise the youngsters; call 523-4820.