HONOLULU (KITV-4) Thousands of public school teachers will be getting a pay raise — anywhere from $7,000 to $26,000 a year — which is helping to prevent some teachers from retiring. Despite that, the Hawaii State Teacher’s Association still predicts a major shortage of teachers this year.
HSTA President Osa Tui Jr. says that although the official numbers from the Department of Education will be released in October, he says the number of teachers needed could reach 1,000. The Hawaii State Teachers Association represents 13,500 educators on campuses in state, with the majority being teachers.
“Anecdotally I think we are still going to be in a crisis in terms of our teachers not being able to fill all the positions in our school,” says Tui Jr. “We’re still going to have a lack of teachers, and we need more every single day to help our keiki.”
“A thing our admin said was we’ve exhausted the available applicant pool — there is essentially no one to hire,” says Joel Vonnahme, Chemistry Teacher at Kailua High School. “And we’re even short on subs.“
The Hawaii State Teachers Association represents 13,500 educators on campuses in state, with the majority being teachers.
“Hawaii and Oahu in particular has one of the worst ratios of teacher pay to cost of living in the country,” explains Vonnahme. “And that obviously has a negative impact on recruitment and retention. People can’t afford to continue living here.”
Vonnahme says a friend just got a job at a private school that is paying him $20,000 more than his teaching job at DOE.
Tui Jr. says another concern he’s been hearing from teachers about COVID and that masks are optional in classrooms. The DOE reports between July 24 and August 2, 185 Cases of COVID were reported on campuses, with 53 cases reported on August 1st when school began.
“We still have teachers who are getting COVID and their children are getting COVID so their children have to stay home, ” says Tui Jr. “We are very worried that there will be another substitute shortage as we continue through this year. We are crossing our fingers at this point.”
HSTA advises that educators get vaccinated and boosted, plus to wear masks in classrooms, if they are concerned.