Posted on: Friday, August 10, 2001

Editorial
Time for common sense in teacher pay dispute

It's time for Hawai'i's public teacher union and the governor to come to their senses in their dispute over a new contract.

One senses that positions are hardening precisely at a time when flexibility is what is needed to save the contract and get back to the important work ahead in the classroom. Rather than submit this dispute to arbitration, to the courts or to the Hawai'i Labor Relations Board, the two sides should settle this themselves, and at once.

To make that happen, each side will have to give a little. Here's one suggestion:

The teachers should back off and stipulate that — at least for this contract — the "differential" for teachers with advanced professional degrees or certificates is, in fact, a one-time bonus. This would be an important concession, because it is the position of the teachers union that the professional sweetener is a differential — that is, extra money in the base pay rather than an add-on.

There may be a legitimate argument for a permanent differential for those teachers with advanced degrees. There is also a countervailing argument that advanced degrees do not, in themselves, guarantee superior performance.

It is clear that the current administration would rather use extra money to directly reward performance rather than career achievements in the form of longevity or added degrees.

This is something for the two sides to debate further in the next regular round of contract talks.

Meanwhile, the state should back off and recognize that — willingly or unwillingly — it participated in distributing a draft contract to teachers that plainly said the "differential" or "bonus" would be paid in "each year" of the two-year contract. There is a moral obligation to stand behind that offer.

Gov. Cayetano has said he does not want to see the school system hit with the additional cost of paying the bonus over two years. A one-year payment would be about $9.7 million; a two-year payout would come to around $20 million.

So pay the first year now, out of federal impact funds, and then go to the Legislature next session with a supplemental request to fund the second year. Lawmakers have already signaled their willingness to pay more.

This solution would require both sides to swallow a little pride and fall behind a little bit on their long-term objectives. But it would remove the cloud of uncertainty that hangs over our public school system and get our teachers back on track.

Do it.