STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3375

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2488

S.D. 2

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirtieth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2020

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 2488, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO TEACHER COMPENSATION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to improve the recruitment and retention of qualified teachers by providing additional funds to the Department of Education for discretionary salary adjustments.

More specifically, this measure makes a one-time appropriation of $25,000,000 to fund teacher compensation, as negotiated and executed as a memorandum of agreement on teacher compensation between the Superintendent of Education and the Hawaii State Teachers Association as the exclusive representative of collective bargaining unit (5).

Your Committee received written comments in support of this measure from the Department of Education, State Public Charter School Commission, Kamehameha Schools, Americans for Democratic Action Hawaii, Hawaii State Teachers Association, Democratic Party of Hawaii Education Caucus, Hawaii Iron Workers Stabilization Fund, Hui for Excellence in Education Coalition, ILWU Local 142, and more than two hundred seventy-five individuals.

The Department of Budget and Finance submitted written comments on this measure.

Your Committee finds that the State continues to face a chronic teacher shortage, which undermines student learning and achievement. The additional funds appropriated by this measure will help to support the Department of Education's efforts to improve the recruitment and retention of qualified teachers.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Expanding the measure's purpose section to include additional legislative findings;

(2) Increasing, from $25,000,000 to $26,769,500, the appropriation for teacher compensation pursuant to the memorandum of understanding;

(3) Appropriating funds to address compensation for classroom teacher shortage differentials;

(4) Appropriating funds for fringe benefit costs for teacher compensation; and

(5) Making technical nonsubstantive amendments for purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2488, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2488, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

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DONOVAN M. DELA CRUZ, Chair