Some teachers are missing their first and second paychecks of the school year
Posted: August 23, 2024
Hundreds of teachers at several public and charter schools are enduring the start of the school year without pay because of administrative processing delays at the Hawaiʻi State Department of Education (HIDOE).
As soon as leaders and staff of the Hawaiʻi State Teachers Association began hearing initial reports from members about their paycheck delays earlier this week, the HSTA immediately notified top HIDOE officials about the problems, and asked what happened and how the department planned to remedy the situation. HIDOE could not issue a paycheck mid-payroll cycle, but state Schools Superintendent Hayashi pushed for a solution to help the affected teachers.
Some 377 teachers did not receive their Aug. 20 paychecks, and HIDOE has told HSTA it will cut checks worth $2,000 and deliver them to the affected teachers early next week at their schools. Teachers will have the option to reject the check or accept it. They will be asked to sign a promissory note to repay the amount if they accept it, HIDOE said.
HIDOE says 302 of those teachers are slated to receive their first school year 2024-2025 paycheck on Sept. 5, which will contain both their Aug. 20 and Sept. 5 paychecks.
The remaining 75 teachers will receive their first check Sept. 20, the department said, missing their first two paychecks of the school year. Those 75 will be offered an additional $2,000 for the delay and their Sept. 20 checks will reflect pay for the Aug. 20, Sept. 5, and Sept. 20 checks, according to HIDOE, which emailed the affected teachers an update Friday.
In an email to the department, HSTA Deputy Executive Director and Chief Negotiator Andrea Eshelman requested an explanation about what caused the delay and what steps the department is taking to prevent such incidents in the future.
Eshelman wrote, “HSTA understands that Superintendent (Keith) Hayashi and Assistant Superintendent (Brian) Hallett played a critical role in getting this issue addressed and pushing for a solution to get checks, hopefully mitigating financial impacts. We would like to express our appreciation for any efforts to problem-solve.”
“This is a serious problem for educators who have been working since July 30 and August 20 was to be their first paycheck of the school year. Many of them are worried about missing mortgage and rent payments, racking up overdraft fees, and just having some cash to get by. They should concentrate on teaching their students, not scrambling to deal with missing pay,” Eshelman said. “We hope the department will do its best to assure this never happens again.”
So far, the HSTA received calls and emails from affected teachers on Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi Island and Molokaʻi indicating they didn’t receive checks. The HSTA has requested and is waiting for the HIDOE to provide a comprehensive list with the teachers’ names and the schools where educators were not paid on time.
In a statement released to the news media Friday, HIDOE said, “We recognize the difficulty that this delay creates for employees. The department is actively working to resolve the situation as quickly as possible and communicated with all affected employees today, acknowledging the delay and notifying them of the opportunity for an advance.”
“We are examining our onboarding process that resulted in the delay. Fixing the process and improving oversight of the process are high priorities,” HIDOE added.