Two sides of the teachers' contract

Teachers should be satisfied with raise

In the present teachers contract, teachers were given a 16 percent raise. Upon that, many were given a retention bonus of about $1,000. Some even received another 3 percent, one-time bonus for holding an advanced degree.

More educated teachers were told they'd be sharing a $6 million kitty among themselves as a bonus for holding an advanced degree. Now, state taxpayers have to pony up $9 million to pay the bonus because so many teachers have master's degrees.

The Hawaii State Teachers Association says that's not enough. Now they want twice that much, or nearly $20 million.

Never in my life have I gotten such a great raise -- and neither have Hawaii teachers. At some point this money is competing with textbooks and computers in schools. Teachers should accept their raises graciously and get back to the classroom.

Jason Koran

Governor ought to honor contract

It was bad enough that teachers had to resort to a strike last April to gain a little respect and equity for their profession. Now the state's refusal to honor the signed contract agreement is simply disgusting and only brings further embarrassment to our entire state.

Governor Cayetano is acting like the kid we all knew when we were growing up. The one who whined and took his ball home when he couldn't get his way.

No one has the time, energy and patience for another strike. Give teachers what they deserve and what they sacrificed so much for. Only then can you show us the honor, respect and integrity befitting your office.

Matt Nakamura
School counselor

Give merit pay to the best teachers

While we're still debating the governor's civil service reform, what about pay-for-performance reform, we should consider pay raises for teachers that go beyond the traditional salary schedules based exclusively on years of service and the level of education attained and the occasional cost-of-living increase.

The current system offers no sense of motivation for teachers since their level of compensation is not tied to their performance. Without the incentives and motivation that comes from the promise of additional compensation, teachers must instead be internally motivated to continue to improve education for their students.

Some teachers are strongly motivated by their passion for teaching, and it is for those teachers that we should implement this reform to reward them for their outstanding contributions.

I think the time is right for reform. If teachers say they deserve higher pay, they should be more willing to show their worth in new ways.

Kellen Sumida

Teachers: Don't be fooled again

Teachers, don't be convinced to ratify just half a contract.

If you believe that Governor Cayetano will act honorably in negotiating the rest, just ask yourselves why you are even considering taking less than what you agreed upon when you ended your brave strike.

Teachers, you should force Ben to keep his word. You earned it.

Ken Armstrong

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>> HSTA Web site
>> State Web site
>> Governor's strike Web site
>> DOE Web site

[QUOTABLES] "It's good to have family in the crowd." Nate Ilaoa, University of Hawaii football's newest acquisition, and one of last year's best high school players in Virginia, on his ready-made cheering section -- about 100 relatives, including his parents and three siblings, who live in Hawaii. "Am I confident we can have a base closing -- a successful base closing round? The answer is no, I'm not." Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense, saying he doesn't think Congress will approve a White House request to form a commission to close excess military bases around the country.

What misbehaving politicians really mean

Politicians seem to say the same confusing things after each scandal. I thought it might be helpful to provide English translations for this political speak (political speak is in quotation marks with English translations following):

>> "I was trying to protect my family."

Darn! It's going to be a long time before my wife and kids trust me enough to fool them again.

>> "I did not have a sexual relationship with that woman..."

She's the one with the relationship. I was just having lots and lots of sex!

>> "I was just counseling a young troubled intern."

I'm counseling away all her morality and sexual inhibitions.

>> "It's a private matter."

I'm having illicit sex and/or taking illegal drugs.

>> "This media feeding frenzy has got to stop."

They're getting too close to the truth.

>> "The Founding Fathers did it, too."

If the Founding Fathers did what I did they could literally have fathered a whole country!

>>"The alleged misleading statements supposedly attributed to me were perhaps said in order to protect my family and we deeply regret having possibly made them because some people could interpret them as not entirely and accurately reflecting the operative situation."

I confess.

>> "I may have mislead..."

I lied to your face because I thought you were too dumb to know and/or forget by election time.

Leighton Loo
Mililani

Jones shouldn't be forgiven so easily

Kalani Simpson's July 31 "Answer Man" column is almost nauseating in its adulation of He-Can-Do-No-Wrong Coach June Jones.

Rather than take the opportunity to coach the coach on such simple civilities as courtesy, mutual respect, responsibility and punctuality, Simpson instead appointed himself the chairman of the Pampering Press Committee and gushed, after Jones finally appeared an hour and 15 minutes late for a Honolulu Quarterback Club luncheon address, "Now that's style."

I'm not so certain keeping a packed room waiting for over an hour is stylish.

Charlie Wheeler

Another lawsuit that misplaces blame

Regarding the July 31 story on the lawsuit against Foodland:

How tragic that once again a bereaved family will go after an undisclosed amount of money due to irresponsible drivers. Even if the young men did not purchase the alcohol, they certainly consumed it and lost their lives due to their lack of responsibility and judgment.

Rather than hold others accountable for the loss, let's think for a minute of the two irresponsible college-bound young men who never used their common sense before getting behind the wheel and as a result shortened their own lives.

We are each responsible for our own actions. Is it warranted to profit from two young men's apparent lack of concern for others on that same road that same night?

Gene T. Stocks

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