Members of a Hawaii citizens group criticized state Board of Education members last night for the elimination of public school days as a means of balancing the government budget.

Hawaii Education Matters member Jo Curran said 17 Furlough Fridays are scheduled to be imposed in the 2010-2011 school year. Four more Furlough Fridays are scheduled through the end of 2009-2010 school year.

“;That's not acceptable,”; said Curran, a Hawaii Kai resident whose children attend Kahala Elementary School. “;We want the Board of Education to be accountable. ... We want to see some evidence that they working on these issues.”;

During a school board meeting last night in Honolulu, Curran said board members should be doing more to end Furlough Fridays.

She said the board should at least look at adding the reduced days to breaks, such as spring, Thanksgiving and Christmas, so that the furlough days would be less disruptive.

Curran, whose group has 1,200 members, said the current schedule usually has two Furlough Fridays a month, which is “;extremely disruptive.”;

Curran said the state is 27th in the nation in mathematics and has the lowest number of school days in the U.S.

“;We have a government, union and political system unwilling to find a solution,”; Curran said. “;I'm offering to you that Hawaii is not in a 'Race to the Top,' but very quickly a race to the bottom.”;

Marguerite Higa, a member of the group Save Our Schools, said she wakes up every day wondering if she is in a horrible dream.

“;Are we really taking school away from children to save money?”; said Higa, a Manoa resident.

Higa's daughter Raine, a third-grader at Noelani Elementary School, said taking away school days is teaching students the wrong kind of behavior.

“;When they can't go to school, they can't turn in their homework, and that's not being responsible and that's not their fault,”; she said.

Board Chairman Garrett Toguchi said he appreciated the groups' comments and their past demonstration at the state Capitol.

Toguchi said the board has been working hard with the unions to resolve the issue, but said other people are also involved in resolving the Furlough Friday issue, including the governor and state legislators.