Posted on: Friday, March 8, 2002

Teacher bonuses expanded in ruling

Associated Press

The state Labor Relations Board has clarified its ruling on bonuses paid to public school teachers.

The board held last month that teachers with master's degrees in education would receive a one-year bonus of 3 percent.

Yesterday, the board said the bonuses must be paid to all teachers with a master's in their field of teaching, meaning an additional 3,700 teachers will receive bonuses.

The board had been called in to settle a disagreement the state had with the Hawai'i State Teachers Association over the bonus portion of a two-year contract ratified last April.

The union held that the bonuses were to be paid in each year of the contract, while the state maintained that the bonuses should only be paid for the first year.

Although it sided with the state, the board also directed the two sides to negotiate the bonuses for the second year of the contract.

Gov. Ben Cayetano has said he expects something in return when the state negotiates the second year of bonuses, noting that "it's like we are bargaining for a brand-new contract."