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A total of 1,600 Hawaii public school teachers were out of the classroom on Wednesday, with half calling in sick and the other half out for other reasons, interim Department of Education Superintendent Keith Hayashi said Wednesday afternoon.
The absences make up about 12 percent of classroom teachers, he added.
"Schools are doing everything they can to cover classrooms with substitutes or by making other adjustments," Hayashi said during a news conference via Zoom.
On top of the absences, Hayashi said there were 400 unfilled substitute requests on Wednesday at the 257 public schools.
Hayashi said this could amount to two unfilled requests at each of the 257 public schools, although the numbers at each school differ.
No breakdown was given of where the teacher absences occurred. Public school students returned to the classrooms this week from winter break amid a surge in COVID-19 cases across the state.
"This is a reflection of what is happening in our community," Hayashi said, noting that all industries and their staff are being affected by COVID.
Cases began to climb again in December as the omicron variant spread across Hawaii. On Monday, DOE reported 107 cases across 36 schools. DOE's moving average of daily cases was 61.67 as of Tuesday,
The Hawaii State Teachers Association has pressed the DOE for more information on its contingency plans as it brings students back to the classroom after the break.
"We are very concerned that the department appears to be caught off guard, despite months of time to prepare," HSTA President Osa Tui Jr. said.
He added in a post on Facebook Wednesday evening that to cover teacher absences, non-classroom teachers such as counselors, and even security guards, are pulled from their jobs to "babysit."
Most times there is no lesson unless some type of worksheet can be handed out.
Tui added that if online or hybrid learning takes effect, teachers also need time to prepare.
"It's not like just flicking a switch and boom, we're all online or we're in some hybrid mode," Tui said.
Hayashi said during the news conference that there is "no real threshold, or any magic number we are looking at," in regards to the number of cases that would spur the DOE to close a classroom, grade level or schools, and that there are "many different variables that go into any decision" regarding closures.
Schools are determining daily if they are not able to staff a classroom and will notify parents as soon as possible, said Hayashi, who asked parents to be flexible and understanding.
"We are committed to keeping our schools open," he said.
* Melissa Tanji can be reached at mtanji@mauinews.com.