ASSOCIATION OF
HAWAIIAN CIVIC CLUBS
A RESOLUTION
No. 2019 – 40
URGING THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF HAWAI‘I TO ESTABLISH THE TEACHER HOUSING TASK FORCE TO ANALYZE AND PROVIDE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR HOUSING OPTIONS FOR STATE OF HAWAI‘I DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TEACHERS
WHEREAS, approximately ten percent of the State of Hawai‘i public school teachers switch schools, relocate or leave the profession each year, and only fifty to sixty percent of current teachers have been at their school for five years or more; and
WHEREAS, chronic teacher turnover forces the Department of Education to rely on emergency hires and substitute teachers to fill vacancies; and
WHEREAS, teacher recruitment and retention is especially difficult for poor and rural communities, and these communities usually have a higher percentage of Hawaiian students; and
WHEREAS, according to Equitable Access to Excellent Educators, a report published by the United States Department of Education in 2015, found that an average of 14.48 percent of teachers in low poverty schools are inexperienced, unqualified, or out-of-field teaching, and in high-poverty schools, the figure jumps to 21.48 percent; and
WHEREAS, Hawai‘i’s high cost of living coupled with low teacher pay are significant contributing factors in the Department of Education’s teacher recruitment and retention efforts; and
WHEREAS, according to a recent WalletHub study, the State of Hawai‘i ranked last in comparison to the other 50 states for starting teacher salary and median teacher salary adjusted for cost of living.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs at its 60th Annual Convention in Lahaina, Maui, in the malama of Welehu and the rising of Lāʻau Pau, this 16th day of November 2019, urging the Governor of the State of Hawai‘i to establish the Teacher Housing Task Force to analyze and provide recommendations for housing options for State of Hawai‘i Department of Education teachers; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the purpose of the task force is to provide recommendations that will improve teacher recruitment and retention, especially in high poverty schools with preference for in-state teachers and include public charter schools; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs recommends the task force consist of the following: up to three members from the Department of Education (the Superintendent or designee, a designee from Office of Hawaiian Education and a Complex Area Superintendent from a high poverty school or its designee), one member from the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, one member from the Hawai‘i State Teachers’ Association, one member from the Hawai‘i Charter School Board, and at least one representative from the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a certified copy of this resolution be transmitted to Department of Education Superintendent, the Chairman of the Hawaiian Homes Commission, President of the Hawai‘i State Teachers’ Association, Chair of the Hawai‘i Charter School Association, as well as the Governor of the State of Hawai‘i, President of the State Senate, Speaker of the State House of Representatives, Chair of the State Senate subject matter committee on Hawaiian Affairs, Chair of the State House subject matter committee on Hawaiian Affairs, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and all County Mayors.
The undersigned hereby certifies that the foregoing Resolution was duly adopted in the malama of Welehu and the rising of Lāʻau Pau on the 16th day of November 2019, at the 60th Annual Convention of the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs in Lahaina, Maui.
Hailama V. K. K. Farden, President