Update on Feb. 27, 2020: Lawmakers allocated additional funding for SB2488, SD1, raising the total to more than $37 million (9 ayes, 4 excused). The Senate Ways and Means Committee increased the base amount to $26.7 million for pay differentials, salary compression, or a combination of both; added $1.9 million for public charter school teachers; and added more than $9 million for fringe costs for both Hawaii State Department of Education and public charter school teachers.
Original post from Feb. 19, 2020: The Senate Ways and Means Committee passed SB2488, SD1 with amendments (11 ayes, 2 excused) Wednesday morning. Mahalo to all who submitted testimony on such short notice.
SB2488, SD1 would allocate $25 million for pay differentials, salary compression, or a combination of both.
Lawmakers added $9,082,380 in general funds to address additional costs, such as retirement benefits, that would accrue should the bill become law.
If approved, the final amounts would be negotiated between the Hawaii State Teachers Association and the Department of Education via a signed Memorandum of Agreement.
“We thank the senators for including fringe benefit costs in this amendment, however we hope the Legislature will allocate more to completely cover both differentials and compression as this bill moves forward,” said HSTA President Corey Rosenlee.
The next step for SB2488, SD1 is a full vote on the Senate floor. A date has yet to be set. If approved by the full Senate, the bill crosses over into the House to undergo a similar process.
We may need you to submit testimony again when the bill is heard by various House committees. Please stay tuned and be sure to sign up for alerts on how to take action.
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Additional stories
- Teacher pay adjustment bill advances at Legislature – February 6, 2020
- DOE's teacher salary study 'further justifies the need to take bold action' – February 4, 2020
