KAILUA-KONA — Dulcy Dawson is a high school teacher at West Hawaii Explorations Academy, but she also does professional development to supplement the income she makes as an educator. ADVERTISING KAILUA-KONA — Dulcy Dawson is a high school teacher at
KAILUA-KONA — Dulcy Dawson is a high school teacher at West Hawaii Explorations Academy, but she also does professional development to supplement the income she makes as an educator.
“And our family’s always looking for other ways to bring in other income,” she said, “which takes away from this job.”
The starting salary for a teacher with a bachelor’s degree ranges from $35,324 to $49,439, depending on experience, according to the Department of Education’s teachers’ gross annual salary schedule. About 40 percent of teachers, said Kealakehe High School teacher Ezra Witsman, have to work a second job to make ends meet.
Just like Dawson, who added any teacher who works a second job has their attention divided.
“When a teacher has another job, they cannot focus 100 percent on the most important job,” she said.
Dawson was one of several teachers rallying for a fair contract at West Hawaii Explorations Academy as part of morning demonstrations organized by the Hawaii State Teachers Association held at schools across the state.
Corey Rosenlee, president of the Hawaii State Teachers Association, said teachers here are the lowest paid in the country when factoring in cost of living. They want to change that, and the teachers union has been in negotiations with the Board of Education, governor’s office and superintendent for about six months now.
“Through our contract we have put together good proposals to try to improve our schools,” said Rosenlee. “And, unfortunately, for many of these different proposals … we haven’t heard very much back at all.”
Rosenlee said during the previous negotiations meeting, two representatives from the Board of Education and the governor’s chief negotiator were absent.
However, the governor’s office said in a statement Tuesday afternoon that all parties — the Board of Education, superintendent and the state’s chief negotiator — “have always been represented at the bargaining table.”
“The chief negotiator will become more involved in discussions with the HSTA once the Council on Revenues makes its revenue forecast on March 13,” the statement added.
Rosenlee said the next negotiations meeting is scheduled for March 23.
Many of the teachers who spoke to West Hawaii Today specifically mentioned a proposed 1-percent lump-sum bonus that came up during negotiations, equal to about $550 for the average teacher. That bonus wouldn’t have any effect on teachers’ base pay or retirement.
But teachers said they also face a rise in insurance rates equal to about $850 per year.
The net effect, said Katherine Gopaul, a middle school teacher at West Hawaii Explorations Academy and a Hawaii State Teachers Association representative, “equates to taking home hundreds of dollars less each paycheck.”
Derek Monell, Kealakehe High School head faculty representative, said reduced compensation “usually drives away good talent from Hawaii’s classrooms,” adding he wants to see all parties come together and negotiate.
“Help us retain teachers,” he said. “Make it an attractive profession for people who have to spend four years in college just to get an entry-level position.”
And it’s not just an issue of pay, teachers said.
Monell also said the state won’t negotiate issues like class sizes and air conditioning in class rooms.
The governor’s office said they aren’t able to provide specifics about ongoing negotiations or details about any offers.
Gopaul was among those at the sign-wave held at West Hawaii Explorations Academy prior to classes in the morning.
“Basically, teachers are people and we need to survive and support our own families, too,” she said. “And we deserve a fair wage.”
About three dozen students also joined the campus event, waving signs, such as ones reading “We support our teachers” and “Teachers make dreams come true.”
“They want to support their teachers,” Gopaul said of the students. “If they don’t have the right educators, how can they get a truly authentic and rigorous education? That’s why they’re here, they want to make sure their teachers stay.”
Dawson said she thought it was great to see students coming to the defense of educators.
“I think that when the community sees that kids are supporting us, it’s because the kids love us and they want the best for us,” she said.
At Kealakehe High School, passing traffic regularly honked and waved in support of the teachers who rallied makai of the campus.
Monell, who teaches economics and world history at Kealakehe High School, said many of the problems teachers face make it difficult to keep qualified teachers around.
Monell said the state this year lost more teachers in the first quarter of the school year than throughout the previous year.
“And most have cited pay and working conditions for them leaving,” he said.
