Measure to appoint nonvoting teacher member to BOE passes House Education Committee

The Hawaiʻi State House of Education Committee advanced Tuesday a measure that would allow a nonvoting public school teacher member on the Hawaiʻi Board of Education.

House Bill 556 would require the BOE to invite:

1. The exclusive representative for bargaining unit (5) to appoint a nonvoting public school teacher representative to the board; and
2. The exclusive representative for bargaining unit (6) to appoint a nonvoting public school administrator representative to the board.

In his written testimony, HSTA President Osa Tui Jr. said, “Teacher voice matters. Too often, educational governance decisions are made without the input of the hardworking public school teachers in Hawai’i, who are responsible for crafting our children’s future. Yet, teachers are expected to carry out these decisions, each day, without fail and without being paid the professional salaries earned by their mainland peers.

“Policymakers often talk about improving learning conditions at the ‘classroom level.’ No one is better equipped to discuss those conditions than the teachers who are tasked with managing the classroom experience,” he added.

McKinley High School special education teacher and HSTA teacher lobbyist Laverne Moore testified live during Tuesday’s hearing.

“We are the foundation of education. We are the ones who are in the classroom daily. We know what is going on from preschool through high school. Why is it that teachers do not have a say on something that is so critical? We are educating the future of tomorrow. We should be there giving input. We are not asking for a vote. We are asking for the chance to give input so that legislators would know what’s going on when you ask questions. You need the teacher there to speak up for what is truly happening in the classroom,” she said.

Currently, the Hawaiʻi Board of Education has 11 members, two of whom are nonvoting members: a student member and a military liaison.

Attempts to bring a teacher on as a nonvoting member of the board have stalled during previous legislative sessions due, in part, to opposition from the State of Hawaiʻi’s Office of Collective Bargaining.

Brenna Hashimoto, the state’s chief negotiator, wrote in her testimony, that appointing a nonvoting teacher member to the board “creates a conflict of interest as they could influence the board’s decision-making process for collective bargaining.”

During Tuesday’s hearing, Rep. Lisa Marten (D, Waimānalo, Keolu Hills, Lanikai, Kailua) asked Hashimoto if she could foresee a way forward that would include a nonvoting teacher member on the board without compromising the integrity of collective bargaining.

Hashimoto said, “When we negotiate contracts, those are confidential negotiations, and it would be problematic to have members of those employee organizations present on the other side of the table when we’re negotiating or discussing the employer’s proposals or negotiating strategy.”

Rep. Jeanné Kapela (D, Kea‘au, Kurtistown, Mountain View) suggested that teachers could be recused from discussions which might create a conflict of interest.

The measure passed unanimously Tuesday. House Education Committee Chair Rep. Justin Woodson (D, Kahului, Pu‘unēnē, Wailuku) plans to ask the House Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs Committee to look at the concerns raised by the Office of Collective Bargaining.

Woodson said, “I think there were also some strong arguments made to the fact that if a representative is in a situation to where there is potential conflict, they could speak to the chair or the sub chair and ask if there is a conflict. The chair can go ahead and recuse them from that discussion. That’s also true if there is any potential information that would have a negative impact on collective bargaining.”

The measure will next be heard by the House Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs Committee.