Hawaii Teacher's Salaries

[mikewj]

There is a shortage of qualified teachers here which is directly related to starting and maximum salaries offered.

A recent Hilo newspaper article stated that starting salaries were $48,000 per year for a teacher without experience, maxing out at around $84k. This for a person with at least a 4yr degree and teacher training.

Compare this with the amount being paid to our Council persons.
$70,000 per year plus expenses. No particular qualifications required, just the ability to get elected. As recent experience has shown, it is not even necessary for a council member to show up in order to still collect a salary.

According to the newspaper a recent teacher hire with 15 years experience was only credited with 7 years toward their pension.

Low teacher salaries + high turnover + capricious reduction in credit for prior employment = low quality schooling for our children.

Is this what you want for your kids?

A suggestion would be for teachers to be compensated at the rate being paid for county employees with a professional qualification, with equivalent benefits.

disclaimer: I have never been employed by either the County or the School system and have no school age children.

[EightFingers]

I think the free compulsory education system in America is failing. There needs to be a better way of financing education. Teachers really do need better pay in some areas. One problem is bloated “administrative staff” that appears to offer no real “end product value”, that is a property educated child. Another problem is corruption in the school board itself. There also needs to be closer affiliation with employers and industry so schools can teach usable skills. STEM is great, but it’s only a start. Parents need to take an active role in the child’s education. A lot of them don’t and simply consider the school a place to dump their kid. I’ve seen a lot of that, even in my own family.

Puna: Our roosters crow first

[leilanidude]

Let us go straight to the official source.

http://www.hawaiipublicschools.org/Conne.../home.aspx

Teacher salary

The collective bargaining contract establishes the annual salary rates for new teachers. The Teachers' Salary Schedule is published annually:

School year 2019-20 [VIEW]

Up to six years of non-Department teaching experience is accepted for salary placement. Experience must be officially verified before being credited and must have been in a recognized K-12 public or private school. Certain active military experience, up to four years, may also be used in combination with acceptable teaching experience for salary credit, allowing an individual to enter at a higher step. A combination of teaching and military experience may not exceed six years.

BONUSES
Teachers have the opportunity to augment their base pay via the following bonuses:

There is a $3,000 bonus for licensed teachers employed in geographical areas and campuses that are considered hard-to-staff locations: Hana Complex, Keaau Complex, Lanai Complex, Molokai Complex, Kau Complex, Nanakuli Complex, Pahoa Complex, and Waianae Complex.
Bonuses for our national board certification incentive program, with mentoring component, include:

A $5,000 bonus per year for each public school teacher who maintains current national board certification;
$1,500 upon completing all components of the certification program of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards;
A reimbursement of the remainder of the national board certification application fee upon achievement of national board certification; and
An additional $5,000 bonus per year for each public school teacher who maintains current national board certification and who teaches at:

A school in a focus, priority, or superintendent's zone, or other similar designation, as determined by the department;
A school with a high turnover rate, as determined by the department; or
A hard-to-fill school, as determined by the department.


https://www.hsta.org/Members/Contract

Teacher salary schedules are at the end of the document.
Max is $110,338 for a doctorate and 15 hours additional credits.
Teachers receive anywhere from 100% paid medical benefits to as low as 84% paid, based upon whether they have family benefits or single coverage.
Teachers receive 17 paid sick days per year (based upon 180 day schedule) as well as 6 personal (vacation) days.

Do not believe the union mantra that Hawaii teachers are underpaid.

[leilanidude]

According to the newspaper a recent teacher hire with 15 years experience was only credited with 7 years toward their pension.
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This is completely reasonable. Most districts all over the country have policies like this in order to reduce the chance of teachers leaving to move to another district (generally in more favorable climate or pay schedule areas). It actually helps in teacher retention if the teacher knows up-front that they cannot jump to another district and continue at same or better pay rates/pension schedules.

[terracore]

"Do not believe the union mantra that Hawaii teachers are underpaid."

My sister is an educator. She would like to make more money, but on the other hand she doesn't want to work more than 8 months out of the year either.