State, teachers union brief federal mediator

By Karen Blakeman
Advertiser Staff Writer

Negotiators for Hawai'i's public-school teachers and the state met for the first time yesterday with a federal mediator in hopes of moving a step closer to a contract agreement.

The three-hour session was used mostly to outline ground rules for further negotiations and to familiarize mediator Ken Kawamoto with the issues and positions, negotiators for each side said.

The key issue is salaries. In their initial proposals, the state and the teachers union were more than $90 million apart.

"Yes," said Ted Hong, the state's chief negotiator, "we started out pretty far apart, but that is how negotiations are supposed to work. It's called negotiations — not capitulations."

Joan Husted, executive director and chief negotiator for the Hawai'i State Teachers Association, said salary increases are essential to keep the state's schools viable.

"Given the number of classrooms filled with substitutes and the difficulties getting teachers to work at Hawai'i salaries, this is a critical issue," she said.

"We're having trouble just keeping the qualified people we have," she said. "The housing market alone is going to drive people out."

Husted said a teacher with 20 years of experience takes home $45,000 a year in Hawai'i.

Husted and Hong both said they would work hard to arrive at a settlement in time to meet a legislative deadline for financing on April 28. Negotiations are scheduled for 4 p.m. today at the HSTA offices. Other meetings have been tentatively scheduled throughout the coming weeks, and Hong said next week's meetings will be at the Department of Education offices at Dole Cannery.

"I'm cautiously optimistic," Hong said.

"I have to believe that both the state and the teachers want to get this settled," Husted said. "We've just got to find the right numbers."

Reach Karen Blakeman at 535-2430 or kblakeman@honoluluadvertiser.com.