The Department of Education and the union representing school principals are still negotiating terms of a performance evaluation system that factors in student achievement — nine years after lawmakers mandated performance contracts for principals.

The parties had agreed to implement the new evaluations — with half of a principal’s rating based on academic achievement data and the other half on leadership attributes — this school year under a memorandum of agreement announced in January with the Hawaii Government Employees Association.

At the time, union officials said key aspects remained unresolved, including what the consequences would be for principals deemed unsatisfactory, and what the incentives would be for those rated highly.

Tying the evaluations to high-stakes personnel decisions — such as raises and dismissal — appears to be a sticking point as the parties try to negotiate a new labor contract for principals.

The old contract for HGEA’s Unit 6, which covers about 700 educational officers, expired June 30.

Under the state’s collective bargaining law, a statutory impasse is declared Jan. 31 of a year in which an existing contract is set to expire.

The contract dispute will head to an arbitration hearing Oct. 21 unless the parties settle before then.

It’s unclear what aspects of the evaluations are in dispute, as officials on both sides are reluctant to discuss details while negotiations are ongoing.

"We are working through implementation details that we hope to resolve," DOE spokeswoman Donalyn Dela Cruz said of the evaluations.

She added, "This system values our principals as professionals and leaders, and the impact that our leaders have on student achievement outcomes."

HGEA Executive Director Randy Perreira said the union also hopes to reach an agreement.

"While there have been a few areas in the evaluation that needed to be addressed and clarified before implementation, we continue to work with the DOE and are hopeful for quick resolution," he said in a statement to the Star-Advertiser.

The DOE was required to implement performance contracts for school principals as part of a host of school reforms included in Act 51, which state lawmakers passed in 2004.

The state Board of Education adopted a policy last year calling for development of a "comprehensive evaluation and support system" for principals to take effect statewide in the 2013-14 school year. It requires 50 percent of an evaluation rating be based on schoolwide academic learning and growth, and 50 percent on leadership practice (professional growth and learning; school planning and progress; school culture; instructional leadership; and stakeholder support and engagement).

The DOE and a committee of principals developed the Comprehensive Evaluation System for School Administrators, which was introduced as a pilot project in 81 schools last year.

Principals would be rated annually under the new system, and in their fifth year at a school would receive a "summative evaluation" to determine whether they have succeeded in meeting key school improvement goals.

The BOE policy says ratings will consist of highly effective, effective, marginal and unsatisfactory marks.

The current evaluation system for principals does not include student outcomes data, and instead is based on four goals, including whether a principal promotes a positive climate and manages the full scope of school administrative responsibilities.

State Sen. Jill Tokuda (D, Kailua-Kaneohe), chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Education, said she hopes the new evaluations can be implemented as planned.

"I’m hopeful that a positive resolution can be achieved with the contract and also with executing the agreed-upon performance evaluations. It is a key component of the educational reforms we’re undertaking," she said.

Tokuda — who is completing a listening tour with school principals statewide — said she hadn’t heard any complaints from principals about the evaluations.

"Principals are out there working extra hard despite the fact that they don’t have a contract right now, and I haven’t even heard that come up," she said. "They’re still giving 100 percent with a number of different mandates coming through the pipeline."

Meanwhile, some teachers have privately expressed frustration that their bosses aren’t being held to the same standards as teachers when it comes to evaluations.

Teachers earlier this year agreed to a four-year contract that will tie student growth to personnel decisions such as tenure, pay raises and termination.

Raises for existing teachers will be tied to performance evaluations beginning July 1, 2015, under the contract with the Hawaii State Teachers Association.

Half of a teacher’s annual evaluation will be based on student learning and growth, measured in part by student test scores. The other half will be based on teaching practices and will be rated through classroom observations and student surveys.