HSTA has advocated for this change in each of the last four legislative sessions
Posted: February 4, 2021
The Hawaii State Teachers Association’s proposal to add a nonvoting member to the Board of Education who is a public school teacher received initial approval from the state House Education Committee Thursday.
It’s the fourth year in a row that HSTA has advocated for an active Bargaining Unit 5 member to bring a teacher voice to the board. This year’s proposal is HB10.
“Too often, educational governance decisions are made without the input of the Hawai’i’s hardworking teachers, who are responsible for crafting our children’s future,” said HSTA President Corey Rosenlee in written testimony to the committee.
The Board of Education already has nonvoting members representing the military and student communities.
The board’s military liaison as well as the student member on the board, Rosenlee said, “provide valuable insight into the experience of their constituencies with the public school system. Teachers, too, should be heard on matters ranging from curriculum development to testing to school funding.”
Joy Bulosan, a field services officer from the Hawaii Government Employees Association, testified against the proposal.
“It is only fair for all school-level employees to have representation on the Board of Education,” said Bulosan, whose union represents principals, vice principals, educational assistants, athletic directors, clerks, and thousands of other public education employees.
“Their perspectives are equally as important,” Bulosan said.
In response to HGEA’s concerns, committee members said they planned to amend the bill to add language to allow a nonvoting HIDOE administrator such as a principal to serve on the BOE in addition to a teacher.
The education committee approved the proposal without any objections.