Education
Cayetano wants 600 teachers back in classroom jobs

By Kevin Dayton
Advertiser Capitol Bureau Chief

The state is paying about 600 certified teachers to work outside of the classroom, and Gov. Ben Cayetano wants the state Board of Education to send them back to the blackboard.

In a letter to Board of Education Chairman Herbert Watanabe, Cayetano said the administration found there are 324 resource teachers and 267 student services coordinators who are certified but aren't working in the classroom.

Cayetano said certified teachers also are working as school counselors, librarians and registrars, and said some of those jobs can be handled by non-teachers.

"We strongly encourage the Board of Education to amend its personnel policies which appear to support and encourage qualified teachers to leave the classroom for other school-related careers," Cayetano wrote.

The lack of qualified teachers in Hawai'i public schools was an issue in the 19-day teachers' strike this year.

The Hawaii State Teachers Association said that as of February, there were 69 classes that had no teachers, and 55 unqualified teachers instructing students. The teachers' union argued the state needed to increase teacher pay as part of a larger effort to recruit and retain more qualified teachers.

Cayetano urged Watanabe to put certified teachers in non-teaching jobs back at the head of public school classes by the start of the next school year.

Joan Husted, HSTA's executive director, said the issue isn't that simple because some resource teacher and student services coordinator slots have to be filled by certified teachers.

Many of the student services coordinators were hired in connection with the federal court Felix consent decree, which requires the state to provide services to special education students with mental disabilities.

Those student services coordinators handle paperwork and other requirements for teachers and counselors, Husted said. If those coordinators are removed and not replaced, that would dump more work back on the teachers. "It doesn't solve the teacher shortage to load up teachers with more work to do, and to try to sell that to new teachers as an attractive job, she said.

Husted said about half of the resource teachers are responsible for training special education teachers, a job that requires a licensed special education teacher.

Husted said it makes no sense to remove student services coordinators and resource teachers wholesale and place them in teaching jobs.

On the other hand, she said, "We would not oppose the Department of Education taking a very long critical look at how jobs get filled and whether or not there are some alternatives to where we draw the candidates from."

Watanabe said he understands Cayetano's logic in proposing to move certified teachers back to the classroom, but said the resource teachers and student services coordinators are doing important work at the schools.

"I'm sure if we made that move, we'll get a lot of flak back from the school level, they worked so hard to get them," Watanabe said.