The Hawaii State Legislature reconvened Monday morning so lawmakers could work to shore up the state budget and avoid pay cuts for state employees.
More than 450 people, many of them teachers, sent in testimony urging lawmakers to stop any effort to cut state workers’ salaries, which would worsen the teacher shortage crisis as well as the state economy.
“This pandemic has shown us that government is key to reopening Hawaii and protecting our safety net. In the next two weeks, we will stabilize our state budget to avoid drastic cuts and disruption in basic government services,” said State House Speaker Scott Saiki at midday Monday after gaveling in a floor session in which 50 representatives sat six feet apart from each other on the House floor while others were spread throughout the gallery to maintain social distancing.
Because the Capitol is closed to all but staff and lawmakers, the public could not testify in person, but educators, parents, education advocates and other organizations and individuals sent in convincing testimony from all over the state. Read through the hundreds of pages of testimony here.
Hawaii Island teachers thank lawmakers for fighting pay cuts
A social studies teacher at Hilo High, Elizabeth Benson thanked lawmakers in her written testimony for finding ways to revise the state budget without pay cuts or furloughs.
“Since the pandemic, teachers have been hard at work to adapt to providing distance learning opportunities to our students,” Benson wrote. “We learned how to Zoom and help our colleagues transition to learning platforms like Google Classroom and Kahn Academy. Even though some teachers were uncomfortable utilizing technology, they did it and are preparing to take on what comes next moving forward in the interest of our young people.”
If salary cuts occur, Benson worried that young people who are potential teachers “will rethink their futures and seek out more viable options,” making it “more difficult to recruit our young people or professionals who are thinking of transitioning into education.”
Jessica Young, a counselor at Kahakai Elementary on the Kona side of Hawaii Island, wrote, “We all love our jobs but what more can we do to prove ourselves?
“If you help us find a way to keep our paychecks intact, we can assure you that our keiki will be taken care of,” Young added.
Oahu, Maui teachers warn they may have to quit: 'I fear we may have to look elsewhere'
An English and Chinese language teacher at Moanalua High on Oahu, Helen Lau had a simple and powerful plea for lawmakers: “Please help us to do the vital work of holding together the fragile education before our young people. Students cannot suffer further.”
Aaron Yasuhura, a social studies teacher at Campbell High, wrote that his wife is an elementary teacher, and a pay cut would make it difficult for them to survive in the islands.
While they love what they do, “if we are not able too sufficiently support ourselves, I fear we may have to look elsewhere,” Yasuhara said.
Since educators pay in Hawaii is already the lowest in the nation, Yasuhara said even without pay cuts, “We really wanted to have a child, but we are not able to afford to have a baby because of our pay.”
A science teacher at Maui Waena Intermediate, Daniel Lopez, told lawmakers, “Even throughout this pandemic, many of us are still working hard, day after day, to ensure the growth of these students.”
If pay cuts are enacted, Lopez said, “I know that I myself will not be able to continue to work and support myself here on the island (of Maui) and I will most likely have to leave. I would much rather stay!”
SpEd teachers on Kauai and Hawaii Island worry their vulnerable students will have less-qualified educators
Cynthia McAnish, a special education teacher at Keaau High on Hawaii Island, has been teaching in the Kau-Keaau-Pahoa Complex for more than 20 years.
“I would be forced into the position of leaving the education field, should my salary be cut,” McAnish wrote in her testimony. “I have faith that you, as our elected representatives, will find other solutions to get us through this unique period of time.”
Michael Kline, a special education teacher from Kilauea School on Kauai with 21 years of teaching experience in Hawaii, wrote, “I appreciated the special education differential this year; it convinced me not to retire, but to continue doing what I love. However, I know many special education teachers who have told me that they are thinking of retiring if we lose this differential and if we get a pay cut.”
Kline worried that the Hawaii State Department of Education would be forced to hire long-term substitutes, “which will definitely negatively impact our students.”
HSTA president: 'Our keiki will suffer'
Hawaii State Teachers Association President Corey Rosenlee said, “If these cuts or furloughs go through, it will drive our senior teachers into early retirement. Students would be left with substitutes and unqualified teachers, and our keiki will suffer.”
“During furlough years and times of economic downturns, tenured teachers have already sacrificed and have not yet recovered, and this was over 10 years ago,” Rosenlee said, noting that teachers and other state employees endured pay cuts when they were furloughed during the last recession.
'Clerical error' made deficit as much as $500 million worse
During a news conference on Monday, Gov. David Ige acknowledged his budget staff made a financial miscalculation before he proposed 20 percent pay cuts for all state workers several weeks ago.
“We did make a clerical error in some of the earlier presentations,” Ige said. Read more from Hawaii News Now.
How to watch, monitor the session online and on-air
The reconvened legislative session is expected to last from six to nine working days with all representatives in attendance either in-person or virtually during floor sessions in both houses.
The Senate will meet daily at 11:30 a.m. and the House of Representatives will meet at noon Monday through Friday during the session in a reconfigured seating arrangement to conform to physical distancing. These meetings will be televised on ‘Ōlelo Community Television, live-streamed online here, and shown on public television stations on the neighbor islands. The channels may vary so go to www.olelo.org for the latest information.
The public can also watch the House Finance Committee as they work through the budget process with hearings live-streamed and televised on ‘Ōlelo. Broadcast information can be found at here.
The primary goal for the Legislature during this time is to revise the state budget bill to avoid any draconian budget cuts to wages or services and to plug a $1 billion hole in the budget caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Another session is expected in June to handle other urgent issues, lawmakers said.