[ TEACHER STRIKE ]
McKinley mom, son Denita Waltz so appreciates her son's special-education teacher that she vows to walk the picket line with her for the duration of the teacher strike.
join pickets in support
of special education
The strike underscores the
Police urge patience on picket lines By Christine Donnelly
continuing plight of disabled
students and caring parents
Star-Bulletin"I'm here to support her personally because she supports my son," said Waltz, who picketed outside McKinley High School yesterday with her 17-year-old son, Phillip, who has Williams syndrome and is mentally retarded.
It was especially important for Waltz to support McKinley teachers, and Linda Maeda in particular, because her son had suffered in inferior programs at other public schools until coming to McKinley two years ago. "Not all special-ed programs are as good as McKinley's. Linda is the best. I know that from hard experience," Waltz said.
Having schools closed is an even heavier burden for parents of children with health problems "because we can't just drop our kids off at any day-care center," said Waltz, who is a self-employed advocate for parents of special-education students.
Her schedule allows her to stay with Phillip as long as schools are closed.
"But most parents work full time. There aren't a lot of places that take disabled kids. People end up jeopardizing their jobs" to stay home, said Waltz, who has heard from two tearful clients who are doing just that.
Still, Waltz was glad the Department of Education lost its bid to classify about 340 special-education teachers "essential workers" who could not strike. "If my teacher had to cross that picket line, then that would cause irreparable harm to her for crossing, and in turn her students would be harmed. I wouldn't want my son going to school in that hostile environment," she said.
The better solution, Waltz said, is to settle the strike quickly and improve educational services to all students, including about 22,000 special-education students in Hawaii. At McKinley, Phillip is learning life and occupational skills, such as maintenance and custodial work, as well as how to speak and write better.
Every school day lost "is a real big impact. These kids regress very quickly," his mother said.
Easter Seals Hawaii has expanded its programs for special-needs kids to last all day. The agency can accommodate only about 35 youths a day, but advises needy parents to call anyway for referrals to other qualified caregivers, said Joruel Seatriz, director of its Youth Services Program.
"It's very difficult to find appropriate care, what these kids need and deserve," he said. "We're trying to put together a list of referrals we can give parents if we're full that day."
The state is under a federal court consent decree to improve services to special-education students, and the potential combined impact of a teacher strike and lack of funding had brought ominous signs that Hawaii might be headed for a federal takeover of its public school system.
But that threat has "significantly diminished" now that the state House Finance Committee has approved nearly $70 million in emergency special-education funding, said Ivor Groves, court-appointed monitor of the special-education consent decree.
About $28 million would go to the Department of Education and $42 million for the Department of Health to pay for current services. The Health Department had run out of special-education money last month, and the Department of Education was about to, department officials said.
"I think certainly with the funding being resolved, any move for a takeover is much less imminent," said Groves, whose status report last month had raised the possibility. The strike alone was unlikely to trigger a federal takeover, he said, unless it dragged on so long that services were irreparably disrupted.
Two days into it, Groves did not believe that had occurred, especially because children with the most severe needs continue to receive services through the Department of Health.
The strike is "obviously inconvenient to everyone, but the real danger is duration," Groves said. "Like everyone else, I want it to end."
>> HSTA Web site
>> UHPA Web site
>> State Web site
>> Governor's strike Web site
>> DOE Web site
Honolulu police asked a favor of both protesters and motorists at the end of Day 2 of the HSTA/UHPA strike: Police urge patience
By Rod Antone
at picketing sites
Star-BulletinPlease, be nice.
Assistant Chief Stephen Watarai said so far, Honolulu police have issued one strike-related citation, to a motorist at Windward Community College on Thursday. The incident involved an "impatient" motorist who drove in the opposite lane to get around picketers.
"He couldn't see waiting any longer, and he just moved on the left side of the roadway," said Watarai. Though Watarai said the incident itself was minor, it illustrates the need for more caution.
"If we can just tell the motoring public if they can exercise more tolerance, be more patient, expect delays." said Watarai. "Just be patient and observe everybody's rights there."
Honolulu police officers were posted at 26 of 176 strike locations yesterday. Watarai said there were three minor strike-related incidents on Oahu yesterday, one where protesters were at fault, one where a motorist was at fault and one a misunderstanding.
The first incident involved King Intermediate protesters who Watarai said refused to obey a police officer who told them to open the picket line to allow two teachers to cross.
The second incident involved a motorist at Leeward Community College who could not wait for a picket-line break to be called and drove between picketers to get through.
The last incident was at Radford High School where Watarai said protesters placed strike signs on school property. Watarai said the officer on the scene informed teachers that was not allowed.
East Honolulu police said there were reports of broken windows at Kalani High School on Thursday night, but that it did not appear to be strike-related.
Police on Maui, Kauai and the Big Island said there were no major strike-related incidents on their respective islands.
>> HSTA Web site
>> UHPA Web site
>> State Web site
>> Governor's strike Web site
>> DOE Web site