Legislators can do right
by substitute teachers

Since 1996, Hawaii's substitute teachers have been underpaid by an estimated $30 million, an amount that continues to grow by nearly $1 million per month. Substitute teachers are paid per day and, according to state law, their daily wage should be equal to the salary of Class II licensed teachers; when Class II licensed teachers receive a raise, the state Department of Education should increase equally the pay of substitutes.

That has not happened since 1996, and it has cost substitute teachers dearly. Since then, Class II teachers' salaries have risen by more than 40 percent, from $25,436 to $36,851. In contrast, substitute teacher pay has risen from $100.94 per day to $112.53 per day -- barely 11 percent.

After years of pleading with the DOE to raise their daily pay, substitute teachers filed two class action lawsuits -- Garner vs. DOE and Kliternick vs. Hamamoto -- to recover the money that they earned but were never paid. This was a last resort. By their nature, lawsuits are contentious and can become bogged down and take years to resolve.

In the meantime, the liability for underpayments continues to grow, substitute teacher morale continues to sink and our schools continue to lose valuable resources as veteran substitutes quit the profession out of frustration over their low pay.

The judge presiding over these two cases has stayed any formal decision on the merits of the cases. Even she is waiting to see what happens at the Legislature during this session.

Together, House Bill 875 and Senate Bill 1250 will clarify the law governing their pay, fund increased daily wages for substitutes and appropriate the money needed to settle the lawsuits. If lawmakers pass these bills, the money can be used to resolve the cases, keep substitute teachers in our schools and help relieve the burden on our crisis-riddled public education system.

The Legislature has a history of using its powers to resolve lawsuits that affect the public good. For example:

There are about 5,300 substitute teachers serving Hawaii's children, according to the DOE, and on any given day about 1,000 substitutes are in classrooms. Because of the teacher shortage, substitutes fill between 200 and 400 vacant positions on a full-time basis, with no benefits or vacation days.

Without substitute teachers, Hawaii's public schools could not function.

This session, the state Legislature can finish the job it started in 1996 by passing these bills. That means the funds will be available to settle the lawsuit and, at long last, pay substitute teachers what was promised. It's only fair.