Obama Wants Extended School Hours = Hawaii Schools Go To 4-Day School Week???

This was taken from a CNN news article -

President Barack Obama said Tuesday that American children should go to school longer – either stay later in the day or into the summer – if they're going to have any chance of competing for jobs and paychecks against foreign kids.

"We can no longer afford an academic calendar designed when America was a nation of farmers who needed their children at home plowing the land at the end of each day," Obama said, adding U.S. education to his already crowded list of top priorities.

"That calendar may have once made sense, but today, it puts us at a competitive disadvantage. Our children spend over a month less in school than children in South Korea. That is no way to prepare them for a 21st century economy."

He urged administrators to "rethink the school day" to add more class time.

His proposal for added school hours was part of a broader effort to improve U.S. schools that he said are falling behind foreign competitors.

So this week we have been notified that Hawaii schools will begin a 4-day school week, because of budget cuts they can't afford to pay their teachers - thus teachers will be required to take 17 days furlough. I am all for my children getting the best education possible - if we can't afford to pay our teachers now, how are we going to pay for extended hours? Maybe the government should focus on coming up with enough money to get our kids back into school 5 days a week! I am so frustrated with all of this and worry about how my children will transition back into the mainland schools.