Teacher Agreement Better Than 'Last, Best and Final'? Too Soon To Say
01/13/2012
Screen Capture
Teachers will get to vote later this month on an agreement with the state that, if ratified, will replace the "last, best and final" offer that Gov. Neil Abercrombie imposed last July.
But is it a better deal than the one Abercrombie gave them six months ago? It may be too soon to say, but some teachers are uneasy.
Those close enough to the negotiations to know won't share details, and experts on the outside say the little information that has been provided raises lots of questions.
Hawaii State Teachers Association President Wil Okabe gave teachers a bullet-pointed synopsis of the agreement via a two-page letter on Wednesday night, but said the union's leadership team is "working feverishly to finalize the important details needed to be signed and in place before you can review and vote on a new contract."
Okabe did not respond to inquiries from Civil Beat, and state leaders refuse to talk about the agreement until it has been ratified.
With the information we have now, here's how the two agreements stack up:
| "Last, Best, and Final" | New "Agreement in Principle" | |
|---|---|---|
| Contract Length | Two years | Six years |
| Pay | Reduced 5 percent | Reduced 5 percent through June 30, 2013, then restored to 2009 levels with new salary schedule that "recognizes years of DOE service" |
| Furloughs | Seven-and-a-half days for 10-month teachers, nine days for 12-month teachers, mostly on teacher planning days | "Supplementary Time Off" Four days, unclear whether paid or unpaid |
| Evaluations | In-class observation and interviews once every five years | Annually beginning in 2013, with at least half of evaluation based on student assessment scores |
| Performance Pay | None | To be implemented in 2013 |
| Tenure | After two years | After three years, with one-time $2,500 bonus |
| Share of Health Costs | 50 percent | 50 percent |
