Editorial: $2,200 for Hawaii teachers only

It remains to be seen whether the Legislature will have done teachers any favors, whatever its intention, with the passage of House Bill 613.

On its face, the measure, a spending plan for federal pandemic relief funds, allots almost $30 million for a $2,200 “one-time stabilization payment” for each full- and half-time teacher. The hope is that teachers would take encouragement from this gesture, and that it could stem the tide of departures from the profession, lawmakers have said.

That would seem to be a boon for a workforce that, undeniably, has been under duress. Long before COVID-19 struck, Hawaii’s public school teachers and their union have been trying to secure a more robust funding source to enable better pay.

While pointing out that this will not erase the state’s persistent teacher shortage, the Hawaii State Teachers Association has supported what it sees as a positive step, posting on its website an email campaign urging Gov. David Ige to sign HB 613 into law.

Other unions were less than enthused and likely are nudging the governor in the opposite direction. “Unconscionable,” was the assessment of the Hawaii Government Employees Association.

Higher hurdles for the bill to clear: There are state and federal laws to the contrary, as well as misgivings from state education officials. And these would provide a stronger basis for a veto.

The American Rescue Plan, the Biden administration’s pandemic relief package, required the state Department of Education, not lawmakers, to consult with stakeholders and the public to develop a spending plan.

That plainly didn’t happen here. Further, the Board of Education, under state law, is supposed to administer federal funds for public education. The board has not yet discussed the issue. Chairwoman Catherine Payne, speaking as an individual, said some spending, such as air conditioning funds, were not BOE priorities.

If the governor takes this cue and vetoes the bill, as he should, the decisions on how to spend the COVID-19 relief funds would revert to the school board.

Arguably, some of the Legislature’s ideas may have been on the mark, such as funding to counter pandemic learning loss. But local school officials were meant to be at the helm from the start. They should take pen in hand and redraw the blueprint of HB 613.