So it is with Gov. Linda Lingle. While she has repeatedly portrayed herself as committed to public education, her words have been drowned out by her actions. There is little doubt that the impetus for Furlough Fridays came from the governor's office.

When the unions and the Department of Education readily agreed to the idea, there was not a peep of protest from the governor, let alone a veto. After parents and the public realized that public school children had been made the scapegoats for the state's fiscal problems and protested, the governor backpedaled, blaming the union and the DOE for the idea.

However, when the DOE and the union twice -- twice -- agreed on contract modifications to restore some furlough days, the governor vetoed both agreements, still claiming that she wanted to restore all furlough days.

The result? No furlough days have been restored and half the scheduled furlough days for this school year have already occurred.

For the governor's part, the issue is resolved: She has the money from the school budget saved by furloughs, and that's all she ever wanted.

Thomas Graham Gans
Honolulu