HSTA must focus on students, too

That Hawaii’s public school teachers have elected a slate of grass-roots activists to lead their powerful labor union signals a sea change that presents both opportunities and challenges for the Hawaii State Teachers Association, and, more important, for the statewide Department of Education and the 181,000 students who attend public and charter schools.

In the end, it was no surprise that educators running together under the Hawaii Teachers for Change banner swept the races for union president, vice president and secretary-treasurer. Challengers Corey Rosenlee, Justin Hughey and Amy Perruso easily bested the old guard in a revote mandated not because the initial election (which included a runoff for vice president) was too close to call, but because the HSTA board refused to validate the results, citing ill-defined voting "irregularities" that smacked of election rigging. The trio won the first round and they won the second. Score one for democracy.

Rosenlee, elected president with 56.4 percent of the vote, and his cohorts are unabashed advocates for higher teacher pay and better working conditions and promise to continue the kind of transparent activism that elevated them to statewide prominence. Rosenlee launched the Hawaii Teachers Work to Rules protest in 2011 to oppose teacher pay cuts and the movement has evolved to advocate for air-conditioned classrooms and other improvements.

Their open approach, which includes a strong social media presence, should engage a greater number of teachers in the field — only about 24 percent of eligible HSTA members voted in this election — which is likely to translate to political action. Moreover, it is important to raise key education issues to the level of detailed attention they deserve from Hawaii’s population, and in particular from state lawmakers and the governor, who are instrumental in deciding the DOE’s budget.

HSTA’s incoming president seems more outspokenly provocative in general and has been more openly critical of the DOE than current, long-serving union leaders, but top DOE administrators should readily engage the new HSTA team nonetheless. The trio will have a steep learning curve; Superintendent Kathryn Matayoshi should welcome the opportunity to help them adapt to their new roles.

How well and how quickly Rosenlee, in particular, transitions from instigator, agitator and antagonist to become an effective union president able to partner with the department that employs some 13,500 HSTA members could determine the success of his three-year term, and his prospects for a second one.

It will take a true partnership to achieve gains that serve not only unionized teachers, but, more centrally, the students compelled by state law to attend school from age 5 to 18. With a $1.8 billion annual operating budget comprised primarily of state money, the DOE garners no small share of taxpayers’ funds already.

If Hawaii Teachers for Change are to succeed in fulfilling their campaign promises of "fair" pay, elimination of high-stakes performance evaluations, respect for teachers and social justice — which collectively would carry an undetermined but predictably hefty price tag — Rosenlee, Hughey and Perruso will have to broaden their pitch to include all Hawaii stakeholders in the discussion.

It can’t all be about what the teachers want. It has to be about what the students need, and by extension, about what Hawaii needs in order to maintain a viable, sustainable society for generations to come. High academic standards, more engaging, rigorous course offerings and testing that assures that students have learned what they have been taught all impose demands on Hawaii’s public-school teachers. But they are necessary, and must continue no matter who leads the HSTA.