LIHU‘E — Kaua‘i school teachers voted yesterday to say “yes” or “no” to ratify a two-year contract that will give them a 9.56-percent pay increase over the length of the contract. Jeri Yamagata, Kaua‘i president of the Hawaii State Teachers
LIHU‘E — Kaua‘i school teachers voted yesterday to say “yes” or “no” to ratify a two-year contract that will give them a 9.56-percent pay increase over the length of the contract.
Jeri Yamagata, Kaua‘i president of the Hawaii State Teachers Association (HSTA), said she was confident the membership would vote “yes” to ratify.
If ratified, the pay increases would commence in December. Teachers across the island counted the ballots, and phoned results in to HSTA leaders on O‘ahu last night.
Yamagata said 50 percent of the membership statewide, plus one, was required to ratify the contract.
Results were expected to be announced last night.
“I think it’s a real good contract. We’re going to get an increase. We didn’t lose anything,” Yamagata said, while observing voting at the Wilcox Elementary School, one of several polling places on Kaua‘i.
A total of 750 teachers could vote on the contract.
“I haven’t heard one negative thing from one teacher yet,” Yamagata said.
Charles Fulks, a counselor at Kaua‘i High School and a 14-year-veteran of the state Department of Education, said he voted against ratifying the contract.
“I’m upset that a new hire will reap most of the benefits,” he said, while holding his fingers an inch a part to indicate a new hire would be close to him in pay without having the same level of experience.
Christina Lee, a teacher at Wilcox Elementary School, would not reveal how she voted, but said she thought the contract was “a good start.”
Andy Snow, a teacher at Kaua‘i High School, said it is urgent that teachers receive pay increases in order to encourage dedicated educators to stay in the field.
“It’s a step in the right direction. There are a lot of jobs that pay far better for work much less important to society,” he said, adding educational conditions also need to improve greatly.
Snow said, nationwide, approximately 70 percent of people who start out teaching leave the field in five years.
The HSTA leaders, who represents Hawai‘i’s 13,400 public-school teachers, had sought a 15-percent pay raise in each year of a two-year contract. State negotiators reportedly initially only offered 1.5-percent increases each year. The contract calls for a 3.5-percent pay hike the first year, and a 6.1-percent boost in the second year. The current contract expires June 30.
Tom Perry, HSTA Kaua‘i united services director, also thinks Kaua‘i teachers voted mostly in favor of the contract. “From talking with the teachers, (I feel) they’re happy with the contract,” he said.
The teachers he visited with yesterday, at Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle School, Waimea High School and Kapa‘a Middle School, all indicated they were happy with the tentative contract.
“I have great faith in teachers. They’re a bright group,” and that makes working with them easy, he said. The teachers also expressed happiness with the HSTA Web site, which has a members-only section where teachers could log in and calculate their pay scales over the life of the proposed contract. They could also see streaming videos of HSTA leaders, talking about details of the proposed contract, he said.
Yamagata was in charge of tallying the ballots cast at Wilcox Elementary School, while Cynthia Masukawa was in charge of counting the votes cast at Kapa‘a High School. Kathy Carveiro was in charge of counting ballots at Waimea High School. After the ballots were counted, the results were called in to HSTA leaders on O‘ahu. Masukawa was also the Kaua‘i teacher in charge of contract negotiations, Perry said.
