Public school teachers at more than 50 schools across the state held the "Work To The Rules" protest Thursday.  The number of participating schools is expected to grow.

It's a protest where teachers will spend a few hours before and after their official hours of work voicing their frustrations regarding current contract negotiations.

The initial protest was held at Campbell High School with more than 600 teachers and students participating in that protest.

Teachers were out in force at 7 a.m. and will be out in force in the afternoon.

Contract negotiations between the Hawaii State Teachers Association and Gov. Neil Abercrombie's administration continue to be ongoing.

In the last proposal, the state sought to restore teachers' pay back to the 2007 level.

However, teachers argued that it did not account for for the increased share in health care cost from a 60/40 split to a 50/50 split, which essentially equates to what they say is a 2-to-3-percent decrease in pay.

Newly hired teachers would also lose eight days of medical leave.

On the "Work To The Rules" protest Facebook page, teachers also state:  "The Governor insists that the state cannot afford to pay teachers fairly, yet HPD and HFD have taken no pay cuts, and UHPA is actually getting a pay raise."

PHOTOS: Public school teacher protest

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