HILO — The Hawaii Board of Education approved a proposal to increase the pay of classroom teachers in hard-to-staff locations on the Big Island to combat a continuing statewide teacher shortage, officials said.
The state Board of Education approved a plan Thursday calling for pay raises ranging from $3,000 to $8,000 for educators teaching in geographically hard-to-staff schools across Hawaii Island, the Hawaii Tribune-Herald reported Friday.
Under the new plan, Keaau and Pahoa teachers would continue to earn a $3,000 differential, Kealakehe, Kohala and Konawaena teachers would earn an additional $5,000, and Honokaa and Ka’u teachers would earn $7,500, officials said.
The proposal was presented Tuesday during a news conference with state officials including Democratic Gov. David Ige, state Superintendent Christina Kishimoto and Hawaii State Teachers Association President Corey Rosenlee. Pay differentials are set to take effect Jan. 7, officials said.
“I am thrilled with our collective decision to move forward boldly to address a long-standing challenge,” Kishimoto said in a news release. “We have tremendous teachers in the department who deserve to receive competitive pay, acknowledgment and support.”
The plan also calls for special education teachers to receive a pay differential of $10,000 annually and Hawaiian language immersion teachers to receive an additional $8,000, officials said.
A request would be sent to Ige to include funding for the proposal in his executive budget request to the state Legislature, department officials said.
According to the Department of Education, estimates show the hard-to-staff differential would cost $6 million, the special education differential would cost $8.45 million and the immersion differential would cost $216,000, officials said.
