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Special-ed ruling
muddies union negotiations

By Richard Borreca
Star-Bulletin

Concern about how to pay for federal court-ordered special-education teachers and services has thrown new questions into negotiations between the state and the public teachers union.

Until U.S. District Judge David Ezra found the state in contempt for failing to improve mental-health and special-needs education services, the state's main worry about negotiating with the Hawaii State Teachers Association was having enough money to pay all the teachers.

The ruling, however, which may force the state to hire more special-education teachers, adds an uncertainty of where in the state budget the money will come from.

"We are continuing to bargain, but we are looking at the impact of Judge Ezra's decision," said Davis Yogi, chief negotiator with the state office of collective bargaining.

"Teachers have new issues now with Ezra, we also have to look at that with a new view," he said.

The ruling, which is still being defined, raises a number of questions for the state.

For instance, does the money to pay for new special-education teachers come from state funds set aside for court judgments, is it a new collective-bargaining cost or is it going to be a continuing cost to the state and part of the regular budget?

If it is part of the budget, Yogi said, officials have to make sure it doesn't exceed the state spending ceiling.

Karen Ginoza, HSTA president, said the union has the same unanswered questions.

"Right now there is no proposal on the table as to where a pay raise will come from," Ginoza said. "We do have concerns about where the money will come from."

Negotiations with the United Public Workers, the blue-collar workers, prison guards, institutional workers and ambulance personnel, are "subject to call," Yogi said.

Gov. Ben Cayetano said he is reluctant to bargain with the union on wages while the state's economy, while upbeat, is not clearly out of trouble.

Yogi said University of Hawaii professors are expected to go back to the table next week, but no movement is expected. An arbitrated settlement with state and county firefighters is also due within the month.