Posted on: Tuesday, April 24, 2001

Teachers reach contract agreement; schools reopen Thursday

By James Gonser
Advertiser Staff Writer

The state teachers union has reached a tentative contract agreement with the state, paving the way for classes to resume Thursday, a union official said today.

Danielle Lum, a spokeswoman for the Hawaii State Teachers Association, announced at 12:05 a.m. today that a settlement had been reached.

Ratification votes will be held today at various sites statewide. Picket lines will stay up until the contract is ratified, Lum said.

Lum said terms of the agreement will not be disclosed until after the ratification voting.

If teachers ratify the contract, students will return to class Thursday. By then they will have missed 14 school days.

The agreement came on Day 19 of the strike, which began April 7.

The strike has shut down classes at more than 250 campuses and idled 183,000 students statewide. According to union estimates, 130 teachers a day crossed picket lines, barely 1 percent of its more than 12,000 members.

Under the previous contract, teacher salaries ranged from $29,000 to $58,000 a year.

One of the major sticking points was the teachers' call for retroactive pay for the two years they have worked without a contract. Their contract expired in January 1999 and was later extended to June 2000.

Teachers sought pay increases for all four years of the contract under negotiation. The state had been offering money for only the last two years, 2002 and 2003.

The two sides also were at odds over how to structure merit pay. The state offered step increases for professional development credits. And while the union supported that push for accountability, it said many of the professional development classes are not yet available and it also wanted teachers rewarded for years of experience.

Back to school

The state Department of Education last week issued guidelines on what students will be expected to achieve in the remainder of the school year.

• There will be no early exit for seniors, who are expected to attend classes all day until the school day before graduation.

• There will be no academic penalty for military students whose families will be moving in May and June. Their grades will be based on student work completed to date.

• No later than five days after the strike ends, all students will be assessed and parents will be notified if their child is in danger of failing a course. On the basis of that assessment, teachers will plan an intensive course of instruction to help students attain objectives.

• At the end of the school year, teachers will determine whether elementary students should be promoted and whether secondary students have passed the course.

• Principals have been asked to give priority to instruction and assessments rather than to field trips and other activities.

• All teacher professional development and training sessions will be suspended, except those involving legal obligations.