Isle teacher pay below
U.S. average

Hawaii public school teachers earned an average of $45,479 last year, more than $1,000 below the national average, according to a nationwide report.

The report by the National Education Association said teacher salaries have not kept pace with inflation since the early 1990s and that Hawaii teacher salaries had actually declined 2.1 percent between 1993 and 2004, when adjusted for inflation.

Nationwide, inflation-adjusted salaries increased just 2.9 percent over the same period, said the NEA, the country's largest teachers union.

In April, Hawaii's teachers union won raises that will lift salaries an average 9.56 percent in the next two years.

But a teacher shortage will persist unless salary increases are lifted further to keep pace with high real estate prices and other costs, said Roger Takabayashi, president of the Hawaii State Teachers Association.

"The raise helps, but the critical issue is the teacher shortage," Takabayashi said. "Recruiting teachers is still going to be a problem unless we continue to raise salaries."

Nationwide, teachers earned an average of $46,752 in the 2003-04 school year, a 2.1 percent increase, the NEA report said.

Hawaii salaries increased 2.3 last year, it said. The inflation rate was 3.3 percent in 2004.

The HSTA has justified its calls for higher pay in part by pointing out that though Hawaii teacher salaries are near the national average, Hawaii actually ranks far lower in real terms because of the high cost of living in the islands.

Across the nation, cash-strapped states have struggled to find enough money to pay competitive teacher salaries.

The NEA estimates the average salary will increase 2.1 percent again this year.

In the past 20 years, the typical teacher's salary has grown $24,150, but adjusted for inflation, it has increased only $2,677, or 11.3 percent, the NEA says.

In the past decade, 15 states including Hawaii have seen a real decline in average teacher salaries.

'