It is widely accepted that Hawaii teachers are underpaid and we agree that an increase of this size is needed. But the settlement raised a question about the administration's negotiations with other government employee unions, which could demand comparable increases, and the state's ability to meet those demands.
The governor's rationale for offering the teachers more money than other state employees was the addition of seven days to the school year. That meant the state was getting a concession from the teachers in return for extra compensation.
In order to obtain a settlement Cayetano raised the state's offer from $78.5 million to nearly $100 million while cutting back on the state's proposal of additional school days from 10 to seven. To finance the settlement, the governor said he will have to drop some of his proposals for tax relief for other sectors of the community.
Still, this was a major plus from the public's point of view. Hawaii's public schools have big problems, which are reflected in their poor public image. Mediocre scores by Hawaii students on national tests have been a long-standing source of criticism.
Extending the school year is one way to relieve the pressures on teachers to cram all sorts of material into their instructional schedules. Hawaii public schoolchildren don't spend enough time in school to obtain the high-quality education they need in today's competitive world.
The teachers union resisted tying a pay increase to extending the school year, but in the end the union wisely gave in. The public would not have supported a strike on that issue. Now the Department of Education can get to work to plan how to use the extra time. We don't think it will be difficult to come up with worthwhile things to do.
Violent acts, including five killings, have raised legitimate concern about the activities of anti-abortion protesters. That concern should not lead to depriving protesters of rights guaranteed to all Americans.
Rupert E. Phillips, CEO
John M. Flanagan, Editor & Publisher
David Shapiro, Managing Editor
Diane Yukihiro Chang, Senior Editor & Editorial Page Editor
Frank Bridgewater & Michael Rovner, Assistant Managing Editors
A.A. Smyser, Contributing Editor