Although Hawaii public schoolteachers were absent from their classrooms nearly 18 days on average last school year, school officials say a closer look at the types of absences shows teachers aren’t abusing sick days or other leave privileges.

In fact, about 1,700 teachers — or about 16 percent of Hawaii’s 10,975 classroom teachers — didn’t take any sick days for illness, said Diana Niles-Hansen of the state Department of Education’s human resources office.

Concerns over possible sick leave abuse were raised after the Star-Advertiser requested and reported the average absences in January, noting that 26 percent of teachers took 10 or more sick days in the 2011-12 school year. Ten absences amounts to one day a month during the 180-day school year.

The newspaper also noted a 2012 report by the Washington, D.C.-based Center for American Progress that ranked Hawaii teachers’ attendance second-worst in the nation, with nearly half of the state’s teachers logging 10 or more absences. The national average was 36 percent.

In light of national studies linking high teacher absences with poor student achievement, state Board of Education members wanted a breakdown of the absences teachers were taking before reacting to the numbers.

Niles-Hansen provided more data this week at the board’s Human Resources Committee meeting.

The DOE said Hawaii’s average of 17.7 days for all teacher absences for the 2011-12 school year included days teachers were out sick, on training or at school-funded activities, or on various other types of leave.

On average, about 10 of those absences were reported as sick days, but only 7.5 of those 10 were for actual illness, Niles-Hansen said.

Besides illness, teachers used their sick days for personal leave (an average of about two days), family leave (a half-day on average) and, to a lesser extent, professional leave. (Teachers can use up to six of their 18 allotted sick days a year for personal or professional leave.)

The rest of the missed days were for various types of leave, including an average of five days for participation in DOE-sponsored activities and an average 2.25 days for everything from unpaid leave to jury duty and funeral leave.

"All in all, none of the numbers are really alarming or cause for concern," said BOE Human Resources Committee Chairman Jim Williams. "There’s no abuse or leave being used inappropriately, so I’m pleased. The more comprehensive report reassures us that there’s nothing out of line here."

Williams said he doesn’t view work-related activities, such as workshops and training, as absences.

"It’s classified as an absence because the teacher is out of the classroom, but the teachers are working. In any other industry it wouldn’t be an absence," he said.

Wil Okabe, president of the Hawaii State Teachers Association, acknowledged that using sick days for professional development skews teachers’ attendance data.

He pointed to the DOE’s efforts to improve and reform schools, which have resulted in more professional development outside the classroom for teachers.

In an email to the Star-Advertiser, he said the HSTA’s tentative labor agreement for 2013-17 will "allow us to address this issue of utilizing ‘sick’ leave for personal and professional development."

"The contract embeds training and professional development opportunities during the school day, which will allow for more time used for classroom instruction," Okabe said.

Williams said his committee will likely look into differences in teacher attendance among school complexes, which comprise one or more high schools and their feeder schools.

DOE data show that Maui’s Hana-Lahainaluna-Lanai-Molokai complex had the highest average of illness-related sick days at 9.2 days, while Honolulu’s Kaimuki-McKinley-Roosevelt complex had the lowest average at 6 days.

"In the big picture of things," Williams said, it’s cheaper for the employer for teachers to use their alloted sick days versus accruing the days and taking a payout at retirement, as allowed under contract. 

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