Most of Hawaii's charter schools are staying open on Furlough Fridays, finding creative ways to keep their students learning despite getting less money from the state than other public schools.

Seventeen of the state's 31 public charter schools are taking no furlough days this year, according to the Charter School Administrative Office. Another nine charter schools are taking some furlough days. The remaining five charters are shutting on all 17 furlough days planned for public schools this academic year.

“;We decided that keeping as many instructional days as possible was our priority,”; said Marci Sarsona, principal of Ke Kula o Samuel M. Kamakau charter school in Kaneohe. “;We came up with a very good solution for us at the school that saved 12 days.”;

Her Hawaiian immersion school managed to restore those 12 instructional days with grant money, belt-tightening and help from its teachers. The school tacked the remaining five furlough days on to Christmas break and the end of the school year to minimize disruption.

Most teachers in charter schools are members of the Hawaii State Teachers Association, but the charters can negotiate separate agreements to meet their campuses' individual needs. Charter schools are public schools that have their own local school boards and are free of many state regulations. They operate under a charter, or contract, with the state.

Per pupil funding from the state for charter schools has shrunk as enrollment grew 30 percent in the last two years to 8,000 charter school students statewide. The state provided $6,258 per pupil this academic year, including federal stimulus money, down from $7,589 last year and $8,150 the previous one, according to the Charter School Administrative Office.

So charter schools are already strapped for cash. And when the Department of Education decided to close schools for 17 Furlough Fridays this year because of the budget crunch, it withheld funding to pay special education teachers and aides at charter schools as well on those days, costs normally paid directly by the department.

Nonetheless, many charter schools kept their campuses operating. Waialae Elementary Public Charter School, which already had been cutting expenses to reflect declining per pupil funding, squeezed its budget further and worked to drum up new funding sources as well as students. With the help of parents spreading the word, enrollment is expected to grow to 430 next year, up from 406 now.

“;Our local school board felt that the highest priority was to provide our children, our faculty, our parents with the number of school says that we had promised them,”; said Wendy Lagareta, chief educational officer at Waialae. “;So we really looked at our budget.”;

The school decided not to replace its technology coordinator when that position became vacant this year and it cut some tutors. It also dipped into its own funds to pay for a Waialae special education teacher and aide on the 17 Furlough Fridays.

“;We were very unhappy about that,”; Lagareta said. “;We did feel that we were being penalized for providing services. We do understand the department could not provide for a service that they were not providing for any of their schools.”;

At Kamakau school in Kaneohe, which has 115 students from kindergarten through 12th grade, Sarsona says much of her job as principal is to raise money. Faced with Furlough Fridays, the school instead made creative use of a grant it had received for college and career preparation. It held a week-long, schoolwide “;testing boot camp”; that the students loved, despite its ominous name. Each day focused on a different content area, such as science or math, with students in every grade level trying hands-on activities to reinforce skills, such as measuring things around campus.

To help make ends meet, classroom supply budgets at Kamakau were cut. And its teachers also agreed to temporarily forgo “;step increases”; in pay in exchange for more personal days, Sarsona said.

On the five furlough days that students have this year, Kamakau is giving teachers professional development, paid for out of federal grant funding, so teachers do not lose any pay, Sarsona said.

Kihei Charter School on Maui was able to deal with Furlough Fridays without shortchanging students, according to its principal, Mark Christiano. This is despite the fact that the school has to cover its $800,000 annual rent and occupancy costs out of its per pupil funding, since the state does not pay for charter school facility costs.

At Kihei, learning reaches beyond the classroom. Students get traditional instruction at school, as well as home-based learning activities, with help from parents for the youngest kids, and online instruction for older ones, as well as internships and independent projects. On furlough days, half the staff reported to campus, alternating with the other half on the next furlough.

“;The students have learning activities that are scheduled for those days, tasks that are part of the regular curriculum or sometimes they come in to the school,”; Christiano said. “;It has allowed us to change the staff ratio from what is required in a brick-and-mortar setting. Learning takes place in lots of ways.”;

Other charter schools, such as Ka Waihona o Ka Na'auao charter school in Waianae, felt they had to take furloughs. Ka Waihona used furloughs to save money this year so it could keep its 36 educational assistants on staff next year, according to Principal Alvin Parker.

The assistants, who work with the teachers in the classrooms, are an important part of the design of the school, which has 530 students in kindergarten through eighth grade, he said. “;It was a schoolwide decision,”; Parker said.