The deadlocked contract negotiations between the state and the teachers union will move one step forward on Monday with the release of recommendations from a fact-finding panel.
The Hawai‘i Labor Relations Board appointed the three-member panel after a federal mediator was unable to bring the parties to a settlement.
The panel held hearings this week and Monday will present both parties its recommendations for breaking the deadlock.
They have five days to either accept or reject the report.
If it is rejected, the parties enter a 60-day "cooling off" period during which the union can issue a strike notice.
The state has offered the union a dollar figure, which amounts to about a 9 percent raise over four years.
The Hawai‘i State Teachers Association is asking for a package totaling 22 percent.
HSTA officials say Hawai‘i’s teachers are the lowest-paid in the nation when adjusted for cost of living. They earn between $29,000 and $58,000.
The teachers have been without a contract since January 1999.
