Survey finds salary
is key to retaining teachers
Fifty-five percent of teachers under 35 would rethink a decision to leave Hawaii's public school system if salary and benefits were improved, according to a recent survey conducted for the Hawaii public school teachers' union.
The survey was released yesterday at the annual convention of the Hawaii State Teachers Association.
A key finding of the survey -- that 50 percent of public school teachers did not expect to be teaching in Hawaii public schools by 2010 -- was unveiled last month.
HSTA is in mediation with the state for a new contract. Last month, the union said it was seeking an average 15 percent increase in each of the next two years. HSTA said the state was offering a 1.5 percent annual increase.
Union President Roger Takabayashi said the survey's findings "reiterate our need to make recruiting and retaining teachers" a high priority.
"Our teachers have told us what they need to stay in Hawaii's public schools," Takabayashi said, "and we need to listen to them."
The survey, conducted in January by Qmark Research & Polling, polled 603 teachers on Oahu, Maui, Kauai and the Big Island. The margin of error is plus or minus 4 percentage points.
Other key findings:
» Of those who don't expect to be teaching in five years, 49 percent said they would retire, and 25 percent would work in a non-teaching job. Nineteen percent said they hoped to teach in a private school or on the mainland.
» 38 percent said increased pay and improved benefits would encourage them to stay in Hawaii's public schools.
» Of 21 possible choices, teachers said improving salaries and benefits would most encourage them to stay with the Department of Education. Other top picks were increasing financial support for education and working to lower class size.
» One in four teachers reported having an additional part-time job. Among teachers under 35, about 28 percent had a part-time job on top of their DOE duties.
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