Posted on: Tuesday, June 7, 2005
Lingle OKs 9.5% pay raise for teachers
By Johnny Brannon
Advertiser Education Writer
The new union contract for Hawai'i's 13,000 public-school teachers was approved by Gov. Linda Lingle yesterday, along with two bills that provide $102.2 million for salary increases and health benefits the contract includes.
The agreement takes effect July 1 and includes raises averaging 9.56 percent over two years. Starting pay for trained teachers will increase from $36,851 per year to $39,901 under the contract's terms. The average teacher salary will increase from about $47,000 to $53,000, and top salary will go from $66,000 to $73,000.
"I think it's important that teachers have recognition," Lingle said. "Money is not the only way to recognize people, but it's certainly an indication of how much society values what they do for our community."
Teachers overwhelmingly ratified the deal in April, after months of bargaining that came to involve a federal mediator. State and union negotiators had complimented each other throughout the talks for good-faith efforts to reach a fair agreement, despite their differences.
"It was always a good experience to work with people who did not deal with things personally but dealt with facts, and what we can settle," said Joan Husted, executive director of the Hawai'i State Teachers Association. "From 35 years of bargaining experience, I can say the governor's team was among the best we've dealt with in a number of years, so we appreciate it."
State schools superintendent Pat Hamamoto said the contract provides a welcome sense of stability.
"I'd like to express my gratitude to everyone who was on the negotiating team, and also to let everyone know how comfortable it is to end the school year knowing that our contract for the next year is in place, and we can just move on," Hamamoto said.
HSTA president Roger Takabayashi said the contract is a good move toward the union's goal of bringing starting pay up to $45,000, average salaries to $60,000 and top salaries to $100,000.
Reach Johnny Brannon at jbrannon@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8084.
