In a news conference at the State Capitol on April 17, Governor Green was joined by the Hawai‘i State Teacher’s Association (HSTA), the Department of Education (DOE), the Budget and Finance Director, and the Human Resources Development Director to announce a new tentative contract agreement to increase the pay for teachers and make it easier to recruit and retain them.
The new four-year contract deal includes $577 million for pay increases of approximately 14.5 percent over the term of the contract, including a 32 percent increase for new entry-level hires. It also added a new pay class for veteran educators who have been stuck at the top level of the pay scale, some for more than a decade.
HSTA president Osa Tui Jr. said the new contract is the strongest the union has had since 2013, and he thanked Governor Green for getting involved in the conversations to help them get “to the finish line.” HSTA represents approximately 13,500 public school teachers statewide.
In-person ratification voting for members was conducted on April 26 with a 92 percent approval rate.
“This is another great step forward in raising pay and improving the quality of life for our teachers, who we value tremendously,” said Gov. Green. “I was honored to engage personally in the negotiations, to help move the needle forward toward this crucial collective bargaining agreement for our teachers and our keiki. Many teachers are living paycheck to paycheck. Now, entry-level teachers will start at $50,000 or more, and I thought that was an important milestone for us to achieve ̶ and I’m so grateful to everyone who worked on this to make that happen.”
DOE Superintendent Keith Hayashi said, “This helps elevate the teaching profession across the pipeline, from beginning teachers to veteran teachers to non-traditional teachers, while supporting their professional growth.”
To see the details of the new agreement, visit: https://www.hsta.org/news/recent-stories/tentative-settlement-reached-14-5-raise-over-4-years-class-viii-among-key-changes/.