After months of wrangling, Hawaii’s statewide school district and its teachers’ union have reached a tentative deal on a contract that establishes a new teacher-evaluation system and increases wages.
The four-year contract must be ratified by the rank-and-file of the Hawaii State Teachers Association in a vote scheduled for April 17.
The unions’ membership voted down a tentative contract in January 2012, leading to a protracted battle, a symbolic contract vote last May, and a “last, best, and final” offer from the state. Part of the current agreement is for the HSTA to withdraw its complaint with the state’s labor-relations board.
Hawaii was once in danger of losing part of its $75 million federal Race to the Top grant, because of its failure to reach a contract to put a new teacher-evaluation system in place. But the state recently won plaudits from the U.S. Department of Education for making progress in many areas of its grant.
More than 100 schools in Hawaii have participated in components of the new teacher-evaluation system.
