Hawaii State Teachers Association members cast their votes at the Baldwin High School cafeteria Wednesday afternoon. Baldwin was one of the polling places across Maui County where union members cast ballots for a new contract. HSTA photo

Members of the Hawaii State Teachers Association Wednesday voted “overwhelmingly” in favor of ratifying a new four-year contract with the state which includes salary increases and raising pay for emergency hires and other entry-level teachers.

HSTA, the union that represents around 13,500 public school teachers across the state said Wednesday night that 92 percent of the nearly 7,000 valid ballots cast approved the contract that will run from July 1 through June 30, 2027.

Nearly 8 percent voted against the contract. For the first time since 2017, members voted in person at 31 polling sites across the state, HSTA said.

A final tally will be taken on May 4 to account for outstanding absentee ballots that are being mailed in, but the remaining uncounted ballots are not enough to sway the outcome of the ratification vote, the union added.

HSTA President Osa Tui, Jr. said, “HSTA thanks bargaining unit members who came out today to ratify a new four-year contract which will help to recruit and retain teachers and give further stability for our keiki to have highly qualified teachers in their classrooms.”

Tui thanked Gov. Josh Green, state Department of Education Superintendent Keith Hayashi, and the Board of Education “for sitting with us at the bargaining table for the past few months to be able to bring this agreement to our members”

He also thanked the state Legislature for its progress “on important items such as teacher housing, public preschool, and teacher tax credits.”

Wednesday’s ratification paves the way for state lawmakers to approve the $577 million to fund the contract before the end of the legislative session. 

The deal proposes approximately 14.5 percent increases over the contract’s four years. In addition to salary increases, there will be substantial increases for teachers working towards licensure to allow for more recruitment, bonuses for most experienced teachers to help with teacher retention, and 50 percent increase in pay for teachers who work after hours to support student extracurricular programs like band, drama and chorus, HSTA has said. Under the new contract, starting pay for emergency hires and other entry-level teachers will increase from about $39,000 to $50,000.

In a news release Wednesday night, Green said: “We have a deep appreciation for Hawaii’s teachers and this contract was meant to demonstrate that. By raising starting salaries to $50,000, we hope more of Hawaii’s young men and women will aspire to become teachers.”

He added: “Higher salaries and bonuses for veteran teachers will also improve teacher retention and reduce teacher shortages. Good public education remains one of our top priorities.”

There will also be increases in the employer contribution to health premiums, supplementary pay, and changes in the salary structure.

Hayashi said in a news release Wednesday night: “We’re happy to see the overwhelming support from teachers for this contract that all sides worked diligently on, to elevate the teaching profession in our public schools.”

But not all Maui teachers were pleased with the contract, saying the state could have done more to help recruit and retain teachers especially with an approximate $2 billion state budget surplus.

“I voted no (on the contract) because I feel like I have to be true to what I feel and I don’t feel that it is enough,” said Nanna Lindberg, a Maui High School biology teacher. “And I’d really gone back and forth and thought about it.”

She said the contract is “not terrible” but “it’s not going to do anything to recruit or maintain more teachers.”

She estimated that salary increases will amount to just $80 to $100 more per pay check, not enough to bring someone over to the state with Hawaii’s high cost of living.

Maui Waena Intermediate teacher John Fitzpatrick said he also voted ‘no,’ “because the governor said he wanted to pay teachers better and this contract falls short.”

He said Wednesday evening that the contract also doesn’t help recruit new teachers when every school is struggling to find teachers.

At Maui Waena there are six teacher vacancies that were not able to be filled. So there are long term substitutes filling in if possible. But if not, students are placed into the cafeteria. He said this is happening across the state.

He said it makes it hard on principals who have to fill in the gaps.

Fitzpatrick pointed to the state’s surplus and wondered why some of it couldn’t go toward education, saying, “it doesn’t make any sense when this crisis is happening in our schools that we are not investing in our keiki.”

Fitzpatrick said he was speaking on behalf of himself and “I don’t blame anyone from voting ‘yes’ because there are a lot of amazing things in this contract.”

He pointed to a Hawaiian working group where the state Department of Education and teachers will work to help advance Hawaiian education. He also applauded the pay increase for emergency hires and entry-level teachers.

“No matter what the vote is, our union is strong. We need to continue to work together to fill every classroom with highly qualified teachers because that’s what they deserve,” Fitzpatrick said of students.

Justin Hughey, a teacher at King Kamehameha III Elementary in Lahaina, also opposed the contract saying now was the time to help current teachers and try to remedy the teacher shortage. He faulted the state in not making it happen.

“I think every parent wants their kids to be taught by a certified teacher and not someone straight out of high school,” he said of the lengths the state needs to go to find teachers.

He said HSTA was at the negotiating table trying to fix the issues, Green has been supported by teachers and there was also a state surplus to consider.

“All those things are hard to align. They had the opportunity to fix a major problem,” Hughey said.

* Staff Writer Melissa Tanji can be reached at mtanji@mauinews.com.