Hawaii meets with teachers to tackle persistent low pay

Ryan Finnerty Oct 24, 2019
HTML EMBED:
COPY
Central Intermediate School in Downtown Honolulu. Ryan Finnerty

Hawaii meets with teachers to tackle persistent low pay

Ryan Finnerty Oct 24, 2019
Central Intermediate School in Downtown Honolulu. Ryan Finnerty
HTML EMBED:
COPY

For decades, teachers in Hawaii have been the worst paid educators in the nation when the local cost of living is taken into account. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development considers a single person in Honolulu earning less than $67,000 to be low-income, and the starting salary for a teacher in Hawaii is around $47,000.

The next round of union contract negotiations will begin in 2020 and the Hawaii State Department of Education is trying to preemptively address pay issues. The department is hosting meetings with teachers to get feedback on compensation and has hired a private education consultant to identify common sources of frustration with the status quo.

There’s a lot happening in the world.  Through it all, Marketplace is here for you. 

You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible. 

Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.