HSTA asks BOE to delay superintendent’s raise until teachers’ paycheck delays are resolved

The Hawaiʻi State Teachers Association asked the Hawaiʻi Board of Education (BOE) Thursday to delay a raise for Hawaiʻi Department of Education Superintendent Keith Hayashi until hundreds of teachers affected by a paycheck delay are finally given what the department should’ve provided them months ago.

In September, HSTA and HIDOE met and agreed to address the harm caused to teachers who failed to receive timely paychecks on Aug. 20 and Sept. 5.

More than 520 teachers were affected, and the department agreed to pay $400 penalties to educators who were not paid either their Aug. 20 or Sept. 5 paychecks and $800 penalties for those who were denied both their Aug. 20 and Sept. 5 paychecks.

Read: An email from HIDOE detailing and confirming its tentative agreement with HSTA

The payments were meant to address late fees, interest payments, as well as time and effort expended by educators to address their missed paycheck(s).

Testifying before the BOE Thursday afternoon, HSTA Executive Director Ann Mahi said that HSTA is still waiting for HIDOE to finalize the settlement, two full months after reaching a tentative agreement in September.

“Sadly, since we came to the board two months ago, none of the affected teachers have been sent $400 or $800 checks to address the harm caused by the delay, which was part of our settlement with the department.

“We have been waiting since Nov. 4 for an update from the DOE officials to explain their changing positions on the settlement language,” Mahi said.

She continued, “These delays only serve to make employees feel as if they are not valued. It especially stings since the BOE is considering additional mid-contract pay raises for the superintendent when the DOE can’t seem to carry out teacher pay raises and pay hundreds of its hard working educators on time.”

“As a result of these lingering problems, the HSTA requests that the board defer any pay raise for the superintendent until you can confirm that the teachers’ paycheck delay settlement has been finalized and implemented and the harm to our members has been rectified,” Mahi added.

Hayashi, who has served as superintendent since July 2022, was given a “highly effective” rating during his performance evaluation in October 2024.

After Mahi spoke, Board Member Wesley Lo explained why the board initiated the motion to give Hayashi a pay raise.

“The intent was that this (raise) was based on the performance of school year 23-24 […] I understand that actually the salary of the superintendent was set back from several superintendents ago and has never been moved […] I’m not trying to, you know, push anything, but we did an evaluation, and the evaluation came out highly effective, and it was for the board to act on. And so I just want to state that for the record,” Lo said.

Board Vice Chair Bill Arakaki said that he “truly understands the situation happening right now with teachers and pay and so on,” but said that “teachers did get paid” and that the process of negotiating the $400 and $800 payments “is a process that needs to be completed.”

At the end of Thursday’s meeting, the BOE voted in favor of granting Hayashi a 4% pay raise to his current $240,000 salary, along with increased benefits, retroactive to July 1, 2024. The vote also approved Hayashi’s contract term to be extended, now ending on December 31, 2025. Six board members voted yes, one member abstained, and two members were excused from the vote.

Arakaki said of Hayashi, “The work that you’ve done from the evaluation that we had exceeds, so you know, that needs to be addressed at this time.”

Other items from September’s tentative settlement agreement still pending

In September, HSTA and HIDOE reached a tentative agreement on the concepts to be included in settling the grievance. That tentative agreement was sent to HSTA Deputy Executive Director Andrea Eshelman on Sep 17. The BOE subsequently grilled the departmentʻs top officials on Sept. 19 over the paycheck fiasco. Two months later, HIDOE has been unable to provide HSTA explanations or responses to key points of the agreement reached, which has delayed any ability to finalize the settlement. The key points of disagreement include:

• No response from HIDOE regarding the master list of teachers affected and due $400 or $800 checks as compensation for delayed pay. The list HSTA has gathered includes more teachers than HIDOE originally provided to HSTA.
• A FAQ sheet developed between HSTA and the department and a published a memo addressing questions and appropriate steps to be taken related to Employee Union Trust Fund (EUTF) and Island Flex contributions. HIDOE has not identified anyone to work with HSTA on this document or appropriate information to be included in the memo.
• While HIDOE has agreed to retain an independent entity to conduct an internal audit, and reported to the BOE that they have begun that process, HSTA is requesting a copy of the final report and HIDOE refuses to agree to release such a report. HIDOE has also deleted draft language regarding a commitment to implement recommended and necessary changes to prevent a future situation where employees are not paid on time.
• Lastly, HIDOE initially agreed to provide $5,000 towards professional development for teachers “Should the contribution be allowable under existing laws and policies, the Department commits to making the contribution.” It has deleted all such language from the draft settlement and to date are unable to provide a basis for the deletion.

HSTA tracking ongoing issues including fire alarms, active shooter training

HSTA is currently tracking at least 20 other significant issues that have been unanswered from HIDOE’s Office of Talent Management at the state level.

These are not new issues, many of them go back more than one year, Mahi told the BOE. They include: implementation of active shooter training, handling of emergency school closures, fire alarms, school and employee relocation, leave programs, reclassification, and other issues that affect not only our members but students and other HIDOE employees on a daily basis.

HSTA will continue to push on HIDOE to resolve the numerous outstanding issues of concern for our members and our schools and keiki.

Mahi testified, “At the heart of the Department of Education are our students, and those students need teachers to be able to ensure they are learning in a safe environment. Those things can’t happen if teachers themselves don’t feel safe in their work space and supported and heard by their administrators and the state superintendent.”