Though most were pleased with the terms of the contract with the state, they said more needs to be done to boost salaries that have been inadequate for too long.

Still, teacher pay has come a long way over the past decade. In 1997, an entry-level teacher earned $26,494. By the end of this contract, a new teacher will earn $39,901, an increase of 51 percent.

That will make Hawai'i's starting teacher salaries the nation's third-highest, although the figure is not adjusted for cost of living, according to HSTA executive director Joan Husted.

"It's a whole lot better than when I started," said Dawn Waiwaiole, a food service teacher at Farrington High School who started teaching 22 years ago. "They'll have an easier time than we all did."

Waiwaiole said the pay increases will do a lot to boost morale among teachers, which in turn will benefit the kids. "It's a vote of confidence we are worth more," she said. "We're happier and when we're happier, we want to share. It's just our nature."

More income will allow Waiwaiole to purchase more things for the classroom, she said. "I can be flexible with my own income, getting things for the kids."

Over the contract's two-year term, average teacher salary will go from $46,752 to $53,000, and top teacher salaries will rise from $66,000 to $73,000 annually.

The contract also provides teachers five personal/professional leave days and puts in place a committee to deal with the time demands of the federal No Child Left Behind Act and other demands on teachers' time.

The contract takes effect July 1 and covers the 2005-06 and 2006-07 school years.

Husted said Hawai'i's average teacher salaries are currently about 20th in the nation, according to American Federation of Teachers figures from the last school year, which are adjusted for the cost of living. She does not know where Hawai'i will stand given this new contract, considering that teachers in other districts across the nation are also negotiating their salaries.

Both the HSTA and the Department of Education have said that higher salaries are needed to recruit and retain trained teachers. The state has struggled for years to fill all its teacher vacancies and has had to compete for candidates amid a nationwide teacher shortage.

Husted called this contract "a good first step" toward the union's four-year goal, which would bring starting pay to $45,000, average salaries to $60,000 and top salaries to $100,000.

As it stands, Husted said she has already heard from top-scale teachers that the contract has changed their minds about leaving the profession.

"We've heard from teachers who have said this package looks good enough ... they're going to change their minds about retiring and stay," she said.

Michele Moninger, a first-year Kalihi Elementary School teacher, thought the contract looked good. "I was satisfied with it," she said.

However, even with the raise, she is still earning less with a master's degree than she was working in the business world with no college degree at all. She said teachers need higher salaries.

Tim Yokota, a first-year social studies teacher at Roosevelt High School, agreed. However, he's happy to get any raise, considering the state's fiscal condition.

"Overall, it's better, but there are still things that could be worked out," he said.

Reach Treena Shapiro at tshapiro@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8014.