The base salary for public schools Superintendent Kathryn Matayoshi is going up 33 percent to $200,000 next month, marking her first pay increase since taking office in 2010, and the first time in 14 years the salary for the Education Department’s top position has been increased.
The pay raise was made possible with Gov. Neil Abercrombie’s signing this week of House Bill 2257, now Act 90, which raises the maximum potential salary for the superintendent to $250,000 from $150,000.
The previous $150,000 statutory cap — set by lawmakers in 2000 — has kept Matayoshi’s salary at that level since her hiring, while a few school principals earn more than she does.
Matayoshi’s predecessor, Pat Hamamoto, was hired in 2001 at the $150,000 rate, which was capped by statute over her nearly 10 years as head of Hawaii’s public schools.
The Board of Education earlier this month extended Matayoshi’s contract, which expires June 30, for another three years, but did not determine her new pay because of the pending legislation.
The board voted on the higher salary in executive session Tuesday afternoon.
The idea of a raise has been controversial. Public school teachers have been especially critical of the move in light of the high-stakes performance evaluations their salary increases will be tied to, which factor in student test scores. Others argue the higher pay isn’t justified.
"As far as I know, the superintendent is the only state employee whose salary is determined by statute. The problem with that is it gets highly politicized," said state Rep. Roy Takumi, chairman of the House Education Committee.
"I know for anyone living and working in Hawaii, $150,000 in and of itself is a lot of money. But what people tend to forget sometimes is the scope of the position," he said.
He noted the salaries of the head librarian for the University of Hawaii at Manoa, who was hired last year at $195,000, and the director of the university-run Waikiki Aquarium, who earns $159,000, are higher than that of the superintendent.
"With all due respect to those positions, their duties are less than those of the superintendent of the public school system," Takumi said.
BOE Chairman Don Horner stressed that Matayoshi’s raise is well deserved.
For one, he said, the position hadn’t received any increase in more than a decade and was well below national comparisons.
Hawaii ranks as the ninth-largest public school district in the country with its more than 180,000 students, but it had one of the lowest superintendent salaries with its $150,000 cap.
A BOE review of the nation’s 15 largest public school districts, which was presented to lawmakers in support of HB 2257, found the next lowest-paying district is Palm Beach County, Fla., which pays its superintendent $225,000 and ranks as the 12th-largest district.
The review also said that if Hawaii’s $150,000 rate had kept up with inflation since 2000, the superintendent’s salary would be $199,995 today.
Horner said Matayoshi’s pay boost also reflects strides in student achievement under her leadership.
Hawaii’s public school fourth- and eighth-graders made gains in reading and math on the 2013 National Assessment of Educational Progress, outpacing or matching the year-over-year growth in national averages for the same subjects. Statewide, more students are performing at grade level in math and reading on the Hawaii State Assessment.
"The adjustment reflects the solid performance over the last three years in student achievement, significant improvements in fiscal management and accountability as well as the reorganization of the department in alignment with our strategic plan," Horner said in a statement.
Matayoshi is credited with overseeing the sweeping education reforms Hawaii pledged in order to secure its $75 million Race to the Top federal grant, including plans to turn around the state’s lowest-performing schools, boost student achievement and improve teacher effectiveness.
U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan praised Hawaii’s progress with the reforms when he visited the islands in March, saying, "Hawaii, by any objective measure, is one of the fastest-improving states in the nation."
"I appreciate the confidence of the board and will work very hard to fill their very high expectations of the job," Matayoshi told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. She said there’s a lot more to be done to "continue Hawaii’s upward trajectory."
Along with raising the salary cap, Act 90 stipulates the superintendent "shall be subject to an annual performance evaluation that is in alignment with other employee evaluations within the Department of Education and are based on outcomes determined by the Board of Education."
It also says that "nothing shall prohibit the board from conditioning a portion of the salary on performance," meaning the board may offer high-stakes bonuses in addition to base pay.
Matayoshi’s raise has triggered increases for the department’s deputy superintendent, six assistant superintendents and 15 complex-area superintendents.
The board is authorized to set the salaries for those positions, but they cannot exceed the superintendent’s pay.
Deputy Superintendent Ronn Nozoe’s pay will increase to $160,000 from $140,000, effective July 1, while assistant superintendents and complex-area superintendents — whose base salaries were increased last fall to $120,000 — will receive 4 percent raises.
