LIHU‘E — The Hawai‘i State Teachers Association membership voted Wednesday to ratify a new contract that includes 14.5 percent raises over four years.
Along with the raises, the new contract includes supplemental pay for teachers who take on extra responsibilities, a bump in the employer contribution to medical premiums, and the incorporation of 21 hours of job-embedded professional development. Minimum starting salaries will see a significant increase, from $38,000 to $50,000.
The vast majority (92 percent) of the 7,000 ballots cast Wednesday favored the contract, which will take effect July 1, 2023, and run through June 30, 2027. While all absentee ballots have not yet been counted, there are not enough remaining ballots to sway the outcome of the vote, the union reported.
HSTA President Osa Tui Jr. said the agreement was the best since 2013, and described negotiations with the state as “the most collaborative” he had experienced in a decade.
“Ultimately, the salary improvements we’ve secured and the many other improvements to contract language will benefit the public school students of Hawaiʻi, who should see improved recruitment and retention of highly qualified educators to our classrooms,” Tui said.
The raises will occur in annual, across-the-board increments of 2 percent, 3 percent, 0 percent and 3.5 percent, each year of the contract term. Alongside those raises, salary schedule restructuring will bring the total increase to 14.5 percent over 4 years — an average of about 3.5 percent a year.
Mentor teachers, librarians, band, orchestra and drama directors, athletic assistants, department heads and agricultural instructors will all receive supplemental pay increases.
Despite the near-unanimous vote, the contract is not without its detractors, who view the raises as too modest to account for a rising cost of living. The comments section on recent HSTA Facebook posts about the agreement is filled with teachers pushing for “No” votes.
“Inflation has SKYROCKETED and we received NO pay increase the last two years,” wrote one teacher on a post announcing the contract. “I believe many DOE teachers and HSTA dues paying members will feel extra undervalued tomorrow.”
The 3.5 percent annual raises will likely allow teacher salaries to keep pace with inflation.
Forecasts from the state Department of Business, Economic Development &Tourism project Hawai‘i
inflation to be 3.1 percent in 2023, while nationwide inflation is expected to be 3.6 percent.
The raises are less significant than the 15 percent bump over a two-year period negotiated by the Kaua‘i State of Hawai‘i Organization of Police Officers last year. Top county officials and council members also received 15 percent raises over a period shorter than two years.
HSTA Kaua‘i Chapter President Sarah Tochiki described the contract as “an imperfect lei beautified by wearing it,” and credited it for spreading benefits to veterans and early career educators alike.
“I know that there are some folks who are upset that it wasn’t more, but we also we are competing with every other state entity,” Tochiki said.
She described other state priorities, including universal pre-K and housing investments as having “indirect benefits” for teachers.
“If we can have students who are more prepared for school, then that will make our jobs easier,” she said.
Hawai‘i is unique in that the teachers’ union negotiates a single contract with the state, rather than individual contracts with each school district.
Gov. Josh Green, who directly engaged in the negotiations, lauded the contract in a statement on Wednesday.
“We have a deep appreciation for Hawai‘i’s teachers, and this contract was meant to demonstrate that. By raising starting salaries to $50,000, we hope more of Hawai‘i’s young men and women will aspire to become teachers,” Green said. “Higher salaries and bonuses for veteran teachers will also improve teacher retention and reduce teacher shortages.”
Billy DeCosta, a teacher at Kapa‘a High School and a Kaua‘i County Council member, described the contract as “the best in a long time,” but pointed out that salaries are still low compared to other jobs.
“I am worried that our local high school graduates are not going into the teaching field because of the low starting salaries, but this contract could be the beginning of a game changer in sparking interest in teaching again,” he said.
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Guthrie Scrimgeour, reporter, can be reached at 808-647-0329 orgscrimgeour@thegardenisland.com.
