Hawaii Teacher Salary Study

Study of Hawaiis Compensation
System
By
Augenblick,PalaichandAssociates
with
ChrisStoddard
November2014
Mr. Wilbert Holck

Executive Director
Hawaii State Teachers Association
1200 Ala Kapuna St.
Honolulu, Hawaii 96819
Ms. Kathryn Matayoshi

Superintendent
Hawaii State Department of Education
1390 Miller Street
Honolulu, Hawaii 96813
Mr.HolckandMs.Matayoshi,
ThisreportservesastheculminationoftheworkAugenblick,PalaichandAssociates(APA)conducted
fortheHawaiiDepartmentofEducationtoexamineHawaiisteachercompensationsystem.Followinga
competitiveRequestforProposalprocess,APAwasawardedtheproject.Thescopeofworkcalledfora
fullinvestigationofthestatescompensationsystem,includinganexaminationofthestructureofthe
statessalaryschedule,acomparisonofsalarylevelstothoseofcomparisondistricts,acomparable
wagestudy,andasetofrecommendationsforpossiblechangestothestatesteachercompensation
system.
Thereporthassixchapters.Chapteroneprovidesabriefbackgroundontheprojectandanintroduction
tothework.ChaptertwoexaminestheflowofteachersintoandoutofHawaiisteacherworkforce.
Chaptertwobeginswithanexaminationoftrenddata,andthenrunsaregressionanalysistoshowhow
differentvariablesinfluenceteacherretention.Chapterthreeisacomparablewagestudy.Itcompares
teachersalariestothoseofotherprofessionals,bothinHawaiiandacrossthecountry.Chapterfour
examinesthestructureofHawaiissalaryscheduleandcomparesittosalaryschedulesin12comparison
districts.Hawaiissalarylevelsarethencomparedtothecomparisondistricts.Thecomparisonsexamine
rawsalaries,salariesadjustedforworkload,andsalariesadjustedforgeographiccostdifferences.
ChapterfiveexaminesHawaiisbenefitstructure,includinginsurancecoverageandretirementplans.
Chapterfivealsoprovidessomecomparisonstootherdistricts.Chaptersixusestheanalysisdescribedin
theearlierchapterstorecommendalistofpossiblechangestoHawaiiscompensationsystem.
Study of Hawaiis Compensation System

Recommendationsincludeloweringthenumberofclassesinthesalaryschedule,raisingthenumberof
stepsinthesalaryschedule,raisingstipendlevelsfornonathleticandathleticcoaches,andexamining
theuseoftargetedstipends.
APAappreciatestheopportunitytoworkonthisprojectandthanksallthestaffthathelpedusduring
thestudy.
Sincerely,
JustinSilverstein
VicePresident,APAConsulting
Contents
I.INTRODUCTION..........................................................................................................................................1
II.CURRENTDISTRIBUTIONANDFLOW........................................................................................................2
TheData....................................................................................................................................................2
Distribution...............................................................................................................................................2
TeachersComingintotheSystem............................................................................................................6
TeachersLeavingtheSystem....................................................................................................................7
StatisticalAnalysisofFactorsAssociatedwithAttrition...........................................................................9
Conclusion...............................................................................................................................................12
III.COMPARABLEWAGEANALYSIS.............................................................................................................13
SourcesofInformationaboutComparisonOccupations.......................................................................14
MethodologicalApproach......................................................................................................................14
IdentifyingComparisonOccupations..................................................................................................14
ComparisonGroup1:OtherCollegeEducatedWorkers....................................................................15
ComparisonGroup2:ProfessionalandTechnicalOccupations.........................................................15
ComparisonGroup3:EPIIdentifiedComparisonOccupations..........................................................15
ComparisonGroup4:ExpandedComparisonGroup..........................................................................16
AdjustingfortheCharacteristicsofWorkersandOccupations..............................................................16
SalaryComparisons:OESDataonOccupationsinHawaiiandOtherStates..........................................17
SalaryComparisons:ACSDataonIndividualsinHawaiiandOtherStates.............................................22
Conclusion...............................................................................................................................................24
IV.SALARYSTRUCTUREANDLEVELCOMPARISONS...................................................................................25
SelectingComparisonDistricts...............................................................................................................25
StructureofDistrictSalarySystems........................................................................................................26
AdjustingforWorkLoadandGeographicCostDifferences...................................................................32
i

WorkLoad...........................................................................................................................................32
GeographicCostDifferences..............................................................................................................38
CombiningWorkLoadandGeographicCostDifferences...................................................................42
Conclusion...............................................................................................................................................44
V.COMPARISONOFBENEFITS,STIPENDS,ANDRETIREMENT...................................................................46
Benefits...................................................................................................................................................46
HealthInsurance.................................................................................................................................46
DentalandVision................................................................................................................................47
SickLeaveandPersonalDays.............................................................................................................47
SupplementalPay...................................................................................................................................47
NonAthleticCoachStipends..............................................................................................................48
AthleticCoachStipends......................................................................................................................49
Retirement..............................................................................................................................................50
Conclusion...............................................................................................................................................52
VI.RECRUITMENTANDRETENTIONANDRECOMMENDATIONS................................................................54
Recruitment............................................................................................................................................54
Retention................................................................................................................................................54
Recommendations..................................................................................................................................55
AppendixA:RegressionResults,CorrelationwithLeaving........................................................................56
AppendixB..................................................................................................................................................58
ii
I. INTRODUCTION
TheJuly1,2013June30,2017agreementbetweentheHawaiiStateTeachersAssociation(HSTA)and
theHawaiiDepartmentofEducation(HDOR)calledforacomprehensivestudyofthestatesteacher
compensationsystem.Thestateputoutarequestforproposals(RFP)seekingavendortocompletethe
study,andselectedAugenblickPalaichandAssociates(APA)asthevendor.
Thecompensationsystemsthatdistrictssetupcontainanumberofdifferentparts,includingbasepay
forteachers(usuallybasedonasalaryschedule);stipendsforadditionalservices;andbenefitspackages
includinghealthinsurancecoverageandretirement.Asdistrictscrafteachpieceofthecompensation
system,theycreatepackagesuniquetoeachdistrict.ThisstudyexamineseachpieceofHawaiisteacher
compensationsystemandprovidesanumberofrecommendationsbasedontheanalysis.
Thisstudycontainssixchapters,includingthisbriefintroduction(ChapterOne):
ChapterTworeviewsthecurrentdistributionandflowofteachersinHawaii.First,itexamines
whereteachersareonthecurrentsalaryscheduleandhowithaschangedovertimeislooked
at.Second,itlooksatthetrendsofwhenteachersenterteachinginHawaiiandwhenthey
leave.Finally,ChapterTworunsaregressiontodeterminewhatfactorsmightplayarolein
teacherretention.
ChapterThreeisacomparablewagestudyexamininghowteachingsalariescomparewithother
occupationsalarieswithinHawaii.Thesesalarydifferencesarecomparedtodifferencesinother
statesthroughoutthecountry.
ChapterFourcomparesHawaiissalaryschedulestructureandsalarylevelstothoseof12
comparisondistrictsaroundthecountry.Salariesarecomparedbothatarawlevelandalso
afteradjustingforworkloadandgeographiccostdifferences.
ChapterFiveexaminesthestipends,benefits,andretirementplansofferedinthetwelve
comparisondistricts,comparesthemtoHawaiisstipends,benefits,andretirementplans.
Healthinsurance,dentalandvisioninsurance,sickdays,andstipendsforadditionaldutiesare
allexamined.
ChapterSixtakesthestudyinformationandexaminesthepossibleinfluencesonrecruitment
andretention.ChapterSixthenoffersafewrecommendationsforpossiblechangestothe
currentsystem.
Whenreviewinginformationoncomparisonstootherdistricts,itisimportanttokeepinmindthe
limitationsofthisresearch.APAdoesnothaveinformationontheeffectivenessofthecomparison
districtscompensationsystemsinattractingandretainingstaff,orinmeetingotherdistrictgoals.
II. CURRENT DISTRIBUTION AND FLOW

APAexamineddatareceivedfromtheHDOEforthe200910,201011,201112,201213,and201314
schoolyears.Thisdatawasusedtounderstandthedistributionofteacherswithinthepaysystem,the
flowofteachersinandoutofthesystem,andthereasonswhyteachersmaybeleavingthesystem.
The Data
TheHDOEprovideddatacamefromthepersonneltransactiondatabase.Thedatahadmultiplerecords
perpersonperyear,basedonthenumberofpersonneltransactions.Toanalyzethisinformation,the
datasetwasreducedtooneobservationperyear.Thefinalobservation,whichwasbasedonthemost
recentobservationupdate,wasusedtoidentifythesalarycodesforeachteacher.
Thelocationinformationforwhereeachpersonworkedwasthenusedtoconnectteacherswith
informationabouttheirschools,basedoninformationcontainedintheSchoolStatusandImprovement
Report(SSIR).Ateacherwasidentifiedasquittingifs/heappearedinthedatabaseasateacherforany
givenyear,butnotforthenextyear.Similarly,anewteacherwasidentifiedasapersonwhoappearsin
thedatabaseasateacherforanygivenyear,butwhowasnotlistedateacherinthedatabaseduring
theprioryear.YearsofservicewererecordedaseachpersonstotalyearsofserviceinHawaii.
Distribution
Understandingthecurrentdistributionofteacherswithinthecompensationsystemisafirststepto
understandinghowthesystemisfunctioning.Hawaiisteacherpaysystemisbasedonatraditional
salaryschedulethatrewardseducationlevelandyearsofservice.Educationrecognitionincludessix
possibleclasses,startingwithClassII(aBachelorsdegree)andendingwithClassVII(aDoctorateora
Mastersplus60credits).TeacherswithaBachelorsdegreeand30creditsareplacedinClassIIIalong
withthosewithaMastersdegree.Anadditional15creditsarerequiredtomovetoClassesIVthrough
VI.
Recognitionofteacherexperienceisexpressedthrough15possiblesteps.Thestepsdonotcorrelate
directlytoyearsofexperience.Infact,thefirstthreestepsinHawaiissalaryscheduleareonlyfor
teacherswhohavenotcompletedastateapprovedteachereducationprogram(SATEP).
Lookingatthedistributionofteachersovertime,itisclearalargeshiftinstepsoccurredbetweenthe
201213and201314schoolyears.TableII1belowshowsthedistributionofteachersin201213onthe
salaryschedule.Forallyears,thedistributionacrossclassesissimilar,withthemajorityofteachersin
ClassesIIandIII.The201213distributionacrossstepsissimilartothatofthe201011and201112
years.ThemajorityofteachersfallintoSteps5and7.TeachersarealsoconcentratedinSteps6,8,9,
and10.
Step ClassII
1
185
2
1
3
0
5
1,301
6
174
7
504
8
67
9
52
10
15
11
11
12
25
13
23
14
7
14A
7
14B
1
Total 2,373
TableII1
DistributionofTeachers201213
ClassIII ClassIV ClassV ClassVI ClassVII
Total
16
0
0
0
0
201
0
0
0
0
0
1
6
0
0
0
0
6
1,984
246
77
28
41
3,677
463
107
47
27
45
863
983
611
478
429
815
3,820
116
144
161
158
597
1,243
97
108
128
140
661
1,186
23
33
36
35
200
342
20
27
24
39
201
322
55
61
68
98
555
862
29
38
35
62
379
566
14
20
20
30
221
312
4
9
11
11
116
158
6
11
14
35
217
284
3,816 1,415 1,099 1,092 4,048 13,843
TableII2showsthe201314distributionofteachers.ComparingTablesII1andII2showsashiftin
placementalongthesalaryschedulegridforthe201314schoolyear,reflectiveoftheJuly1,2013
June30,2017agreementbetweentheHSTAandtheHDOE.In201314,around46percentofteachers
areonSteps6and8.Steps5,7,9,and10alsohavehighconcentrationsofteachers.
Thelinkbetweenstepsandyearsofexperienceisrelativelylinear,buttheactualprogressionthrough
thestepsisnotaoneyeartoonesteprelationship.Steps5through14Bareforteacherswhohave
completedanapprovedSATEP.Step5issupposedtoincludeteachersintheirfirstandsecondyearsof
teaching,oftenreferredtoasyears0and11.Step6ofthescheduleincludesthoseteachersintheir
secondthroughsixthyearsofteaching.TableII3showstheaverageyearsofexperienceofpersonnel
withinallcellsofthesalaryscheduleforthe201213schoolyear.(APAusesthetermcelltoreferto
thespecificcombinationsofeducationlevelandstep.)TableII4showstheaverageyearsofexperience
afterthestepadjustmentfor201314.
http://www.hawaiipublicschools.org/DOE%20Forms/OHR%20Employment/TeachersSalarySch20142015.pdf
Step ClassII
1
168
2
34
3
0
5
573
6
986
7
187
8
409
9
56
10
46
11
12
12
10
13
23
14
21
14A
9
14B
6
Total 2,540
TableII2
DistributionofTeachers201314
ClassIII ClassIV ClassV ClassVI ClassVII
Total
10
0
0
0
0
178
6
0
0
0
0
40
9
0
0
0
0
9
689
40
9
3
11
1,325
1,643
276
112
54
58
3,129
443
187
108
66
135
1,126
798
520
421
376
834
3,358
112
132
152
145
600
1,197
79
94
111
124
612
1,066
26
33
32
26
201
330
16
27
25
46
207
331
56
53
66
85
528
811
22
32
29
51
336
491
13
18
17
24
191
272
9
20
19
38
265
357
3,931 1,432 1,101 1,038 3,978 14,020
ExcludingteacherswhohavenotcompletedaSATEPprogramfromtheexamination,yearsof
experiencegenerallyincreaseasstepsgethigher.Thisistrueinbothyears,acrossallclasses.Focusing
juston201314,averageyearsofexperienceishigherforClassesIVthroughVIIinSteps5through8.
Steps9through14Bseemoreconsistencyinaverageyearsofexperienceacrossclasses.
Step
1
2
3
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
14A
14B
TableII3
AverageYearsofExperiencebyClassandStep201213
ClassII
ClassIII
ClassIV
ClassV
ClassVI
ClassVII
2.6
2.1
3.0
5.7
4.4
4.7
6.5
7.1
7.0
7.2
7.7
7.1
8.5
8.4
8.6
8.7
11.8
11.3
12.5
13.2
13.5
14.0
16.5
16.7
17.4
17.6
18.3
18.7
20.6
20.4
20.8
21.3
21.8
21.9
23.7
24.0
23.7
23.2
23.9
23.8
25.0
24.3
24.0
25.0
25.0
25.5
25.8
26.4
26.6
26.2
26.5
26.8
30.0
29.0
29.1
28.9
29.4
29.5
31.4
31.8
31.9
31.5
31.0
32.0
34.4
29.0
33.6
33.0
35.5
34.9
37.0
32.8
40.0
38.3
40.0
39.3
Step
1
2
3
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
14A
14B
TableII4
AverageYearsofExperiencebyClassandStep201314
ClassII
ClassIII
ClassIV
ClassV
ClassVI
ClassVII
2.0
1.7
2.7
2.4
4.6
2.8
3.5
6.2
7.1
5.0
6.1
4.6
4.8
6.4
6.6
7.0
7.2
8.7
8.0
9.5
11.1
11.3
12.0
12.1
11.4
12.7
13.2
13.8
14.2
16.6
17.2
17.9
17.8
18.6
19.1
21.0
20.3
20.5
21.6
21.8
21.9
23.5
23.0
23.8
23.3
24.3
24.0
25.6
24.4
24.5
25.0
25.4
25.5
25.8
26.8
26.8
26.6
26.8
27.1
30.1
29.0
29.6
28.6
29.7
29.8
32.0
30.5
32.1
31.7
31.2
32.3
35.0
33.0
36.9
35.7
38.9
37.9
TableII5showstheaverageyearsofexperienceofallteachersinastep,regardlessoftheireducational
class,for201314.Itappearstotakearoundadecadetomovefromthefirststep,Step5,tothefourth
step,Step8.ThereisafiveandahalfyeardifferenceintheaverageexperienceofteachersinStepeight
comparedtothoseinStep9.Notsurprisingly,Step8hasbyfarthemostteachers,withover3,300
teachersinStep8duringthe201314schoolyear.Thisisthelargestdifferencebetweensteps,other
thanbetween14Aand14B(whichisnearlysixyears,butonlyrepresentsabout630teachersacross
Steps14Aand14B).
TableII5
AverageYearsofExperiencebyStep
Step
AverageYears
5
3.2
6
5.0
7
9.0
8
12.8
9
18.3
10
21.5
11
23.8
12
25.3
13
26.9
14
29.6
14A
31.9
14B
37.8
Teachers Coming into the System

APAwasabletocreateinformationonteachersenteringtheteacherpaysystembytakingthefiveyears
ofHDOEprovideddataandthenidentifyingteacherIDsineachyearthatdidnotexistintheprevious
year.Thismethodgeneratedfouryearsworthofdata,including201011,201112,201213,and2013
14.TableII6showsthatthevastmajorityoftheteachersenteringthesystementerwitheducationat
theClassIIorClassIIIlevels.
Year
ClassII
TableII6
NewTeachersbyClass
ClassIII ClassIV ClassV ClassVI
ClassVII
Total
201011
472
490
20
10
10
24 1,028
201112
493
579
13
10
16 1,120
201213
500
560
13
11
21 1,111
201314
597
598
19
17
40 1,279
TableII7showsteacherscomingintothesystemaremostoftencominginatSteps5,6,or7inallfour
yearsfrom201011to201314.TeachersplacedathigherstepsmostlikelyhadpriorHDOEexperience.
Step
1
2
3
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
14A
14B
TableII7
NewTeachersbyStep
201011 201112 201213 201314
141
122
95
117
1
2
1
2
3
675
839
934
622
101
98
11
386
67
43
49
28
14
10
6
78
9
2
5
20
6
5
10
6
2
1
4
2
4
1
2
1
4
2
2
2
FigureII1belowshowstheagedistributionforallteachersenteringthesystemforthefouryears.Since
theapproachtoidentifyingstaffenteringthesystemusesteacherIDsnotpresentintheprioryear,
6

someotherteachersteacherswhohavecomebacktoteachingeitheraftertimeoffortimeinanon
teachingpositionarealsoincludedinthefigures.Thismayaccountforsomeormanyofthehigher
agedteachersinthedistribution.ItwouldalsoaccountforsomeoftheteachersintablesII3andII4
whowereplacedinstepsaboveStep5(whichisdesignatedfornewteachers).
Thedataonteachersenteringthesystemshowsthatthemajorityofteachersarenewtoteachingorin
theirfirstfewyearsofteaching.Agesofnewteachersvaries,butthemajorityofnewteachersarein
their20sorearly30s.
FigureII1:AgeDistributionofTeachersEnteringSystem
350
NumberofTeahcers
300
250
200
150
100
50
22
24
26
28
30
32
34
36
38
40
42
44
46
48
50
52
54
56
58
60
62
64
66
68
70
72
74
75+
0
Age
Teachers Leaving the System

APAsexaminationofteachersleavingthesystemidentifiedteacherswhowereintheteacherpay
systemoneyearbutwhodidnotappearinthesystemthefollowingyear.Thisprovidedfouryearsof
dataonteachersexitingthesystem,from200910,201011,201112,and201213.TableII8below
showsthenumberofteachers,byclass,wholefttheteacherpaysystem.Totalnumbersofteachers
exitingthesystemwerelowerin200910thantheotherthreeyears.Inallfouryears,alargepercentage
oftheteachersleavingwereinClassVII,representingmoreeducatedandgenerallymoreexperienced
teachers,andpossiblyrepresentingretirees.Inmostyears,ClassesIIandIIIalsohadlargenumbersof
teachersleaving,representinglesseducatedandoftenlessseniorteachers.
Step
ClassII
TableII8
TeachersLeavingbyClass
ClassIII ClassIV ClassV ClassVI
ClassVII
Total
550
200910
92
125
44
28
32
229
201011
343
384
86
71
66
307 1,259
201112
273
345
87
76
66
247 1,095
201213
282
370
72
63
61
254 1,103
TableII9looksatthestepplacementsforteachersleavingtheteacherpaysystemacrossthefouryears.
Liketheexaminationofclassesabove,thedistributionwithinstepsseemstoindicateasomewhat
bimodalpopulationofteachersleavingtheteacherpaysystem.Inallyears,alargenumberofteachers
exitfromSteps12andabove.Forthemostrecentyears,largenumbersofteachersarealsoleaving
fromtheearlycareersteps,Steps1,5,6,and7.
Step
1
2
3
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
14A
14B
TableII9
TeachersLeavingbyStep
200910 201011 201112 201213
20
92
78
80
3
5
1
3
64
291
309
385
42
119
118
90
94
273
191
201
33
87
66
61
28
70
58
42
5
20
12
21
14
25
19
11
34
60
56
48
25
42
30
51
22
26
37
36
27
39
35
25
138
106
86
52

FigureII2:AgeDistributionofTeachersLeaving
300
NumberofTeachers
250
200
150
100
50
22
24
26
28
30
32
34
36
38
40
42
44
46
48
50
52
54
56
58
60
62
64
66
68
70
72
74
0
Age
FigureII2aboveshowsthedistributionofteachersleavingthesystembyage.TheUshapeiscommon
fortheagedistributionofexitingteachersinotherdistrictsAPAhasstudied.Teachersleavingthe
systemareeitheryounger,andnewertoteaching,oraremucholder,andattheendoftheirteaching
careers.ThemaindifferencebetweenthisagedistributionandthedistributioninotherdistrictAPAstaff
hasanalyzedisthattheretirementpeakusuallycomesatayoungerage.Thatis,inmanystates,wesee
retirementassociatedattritionatayoungeragethanseenhere.
Statistical Analysis of Factors Associated with Attrition

Theanalysisabove,particularlyFigureII2,showsthatakeycorrelatewithteacherattritionisteacher
age.Usingaregressionanalysis,APAexaminedwhetherthelocationoftheschoolorstudent
characteristicswerealsocorrelatedwithteachersleavingthesystem.Regressionanalysis,asastatistical
technique,allowsidentificationoffactorscorrelatedwithteacherdepartureswhilestillholdingthe
otherfactorsintheregressionconstant.
APAusedalogisticregressiontheappropriatetoolforregressionanalysiswhentheoutcome(inthis
case,departure)isayesorno.Theanalysislooksatthreetypesofpredictorsofattrition.Firstare
demographicpredictorsassociatedwiththeteachersagesandeducationlevels.Thedescriptiveanalysis
abovehasshownthesepredictorsareassociatedwithattrition.Second,theanalysislooksatwhether
locationisassociatedwithattritionthatis,whetherthedistrictwhereapersonworkedwasassociated
withhigherratesofattrition.Finally,theanalysisexamineswhetherstudentcharacteristicsare
associatedwithhigherratesofattrition.Extensiveresearchonteacherattritionhasshownthatschools

withmorelowincomestudents(i.e.morestudentsqualifyingforfreeandreducedlunch)andschools
withlowerstudentperformancehavehigherratesofteacherattrition.2
ThefullregressionresultsareshowninAppendixA.TableII10,below,providesasummary.The
regressionmeasureswhethereachofthepredictorsisassociatedwithteachersdecisionstoleave
(attrition).Thecolumnontheright,notesifthepredictorisstatisticallyassociatedwithateachers
decisiontoleave.Alloftheindicatorsofyeararesignificant,asareallofthemeasuresofateachersage
andexperience.Noneofthesefindingsissurprising,giventhedifferencesinattritionbyyearandthe
associationsbetweenattritionandageandexperience.
Whereateacherworksisgenerallynotassociatedwiththedecisiontoleave,exceptinthecharter
district.Infact,threeofthefourfactorsassociatedwiththeschoolswhereteachersworkarenot
associatedwithattrition:percentofstudentsqualifyingforfreeandreducedlunch;percentofstudents
whoareproficientinreading;andmeasureofstudenttransience,whichidentifiesthepercentof
studentswhoareenrolledfortheentireyear.
Itisimportanttonotethedirectionforeachfactor.Apositivedirectionmeansthatwhenthefactoris
presentorgoesup,attritionalsogoesup.Anegativedirectionmeanswhenafactorispresentorgoes
up,attritiongoesdown.Factorsthatwerestatisticallyshowntobeassociatedwithattritioninclude:
workinginthecharterdistrict(positive);receivinga$1,500hardtostaffbonus(negative);andpercent
ofstudentswhoareproficientinmath(negative).Theseassociationsdonotnecessarilymeanthatthese
factorscausedteacherstoberetainedorleave;rather,theassociationssimplyshowcorrelations.Other,
unmeasuredfactorscouldhavecausedthesechangesinattrition,andshouldnotberuledoutas
possibilities.
Receivingone$1,500stipendcorrelateswithaboutathreepercentagepointreductioninattrition.It
shouldbenotedthatAPAtestedfivedifferentbonuses:(1)$1,500hardtostaff;(2)$750hardtostaff
forhalftimeteachers;(3)$3,000retentionoflicensedspecialeducation#1;(4)$3,000retentionof
licensedspecialeducation#2;and(5)$4,000retentionoflicensedspecialeducation#3.The$750hard
tostaff,$3,000retentionoflicensedspecialeducation#1,$3,000retentionoflicensedspecial
education#2,and$4,000retentionoflicensedspecialeducation#3bonuseswerereceivedbysofew
people(fewerthan10teachersperyear)thatitwasimpossibletostatisticallytestwhethertheywere
associatedwithattrition.The$1,500hardtostaffbonus,incontrast,hadabout1,200recipientsin2011
and2012
Workinginthecharterschooldistrictisassociatedwithasixpercentagepointincreaseinprobabilityof
attrition.Aswiththehardtostaffbonusanalysis,thisdoesnotnecessarilymeanthatworkinginthis
districtcauseshigherattrition;itissimplyacorrelation.
Borman,G.D.andN.M.Dowling.2008.TeacherAttritionandRetention:AMetaAnalyticandNarrativeReviewof
theResearch.ReviewofEducationalResearch78:367409.
10

Finally,highermathproficiencyscoresareassociatedwithlowerattrition.Itiscommontofindlower
attritioninhigherachievingschools.Thechangesassociatedwithincreasedachievementareverysmall,
though;abouta0.1percentagepointdecreaseinattritionisassociatedwitha10percentagepoint
increaseinmathproficiencyataschool.
TableII10
SummaryofRegressionResultsPredictingWhetheraTeacherWill
Leave
Predictors
Direction
Statistically
Significant
TotalyearsofServiceCredit
Yes
Indicateshas3orfeweryears
+
Yes
ofservicecredit
Yearis2010
+
Yes
Yearis2011
+
Yes
Yearis2012
+
Yes
Ageis62orhigher
+
Yes
WorksintheCharterdistrict
+
Yes
WorksintheCentraldistrict
No
WorksintheHawaiidistrict
No
WorksintheHonoluludistrict
No
WorksintheKauaidistrict
No
WorksintheLeewarddistrict
No
WorksintheMauidistrict
No
Percentproficientinreading
No
Percentproficientinmath
Yes
No
PercentofStudentswho
qualifiedforfreeandreduced
lunch
Percentofstudentsenrolled
No
forentireschoolyear
Receiveda$1,500Hardto
Yes
staffbonus
Constant

Yes
11
Conclusion
Hawaiisteacherpaysystemisbasedonatraditionalsalaryschedulethatrewardseducationlevelsand
yearsofservice.Educationrecognitionincludessixpossibleclasses,accountingfor15possiblesteps.
Thestepsdonotdirectlymatchyearsofexperience.Thelimitednumberofstepsonly12forteachers
whohavecompletedaSATEPresultinteachersspendingmultipleyears,sometimesuptohalfa
decadeormore,inonestep.
TeacherscomingintothesystemaremostoftencomingonatSteps5,6,or7inallfouryearsofdata
examined.Whileteachersareentering(orreturningto)theprofessionatalmostallages,themajorityof
teachersenteringthesystemareyoung.Theagedistributionofteachersleavingthesystemfollowsthe
traditionalUshapeddistribution,withhighproportionsofleaverswhoareunder35andover55.
Regressionanalysiswasusedtoexaminefactorsassociatedwithattrition.Generallythedistrictwhere
teachersworkisnotassociatedwithattrition.Factorsassociatedwithattrition,otherthanageand
experience,areworkinginthecharterdistrict(higherattrition),receivinga$1,500hardtostaffbonus
(lowerattrition),andpercentofstudentswhoareproficientinmath(lowerattrition).Student
characteristicssuchashigherassessmentscoresorlowerproportionsoffreeandreducedlunch
studentsareoftenassociatedwithlowerteacherattrition.Therelationshipbetweenthesefactorsand
attritionintheHawaiidatawerenotasstrongasrelationshipsfoundinsomepriorresearch.3Allof
theseassociationsdonotmeanthatthesefactorsnecessarilycausedteacherstostayortoleave.We
cannotruleoutother,unmeasuredfactorsthatcouldalsobeassociatedwiththesechangesinattrition.
Borman,G.D.andN.M.Dowling.2008.TeacherAttritionandRetention:AMetaAnalyticandNarrativeReviewof
theResearch.ReviewofEducationalResearch78:367409.
12
III. COMPARABLE WAGE ANALYSIS

Individualsconsideringbecomingateacherareinfluencedbycomparisonsofteacherwagestothoseof
abroadarrayofotheroccupations.Similarly,studieshavefoundthatteachingsalaries,relativetoother
occupationsalaries,influenceteacherexitrates.4
Becauseoftheimpactsalarylevelsofcomparableoccupationshaveontheabilityofschoolssystemsto
recruitandretainqualityteachers,itisimportanttoexaminehowteachingsalariescomparewith
salariesinotheroccupations.Salariesvaryacrossfieldsforavarietyofreasons.Inasupplyanddemand
framework,salariesvaryinpartbasedonhowspecializedofaskillsetisrequired.Thisincreasestraining
andeducationcostsforindividualswhowishtopursuethatcareerandlimitsthenumberofindividuals
whoareabletoenterthatprofession.Asaresult,highlyspecializedortechnicaloccupationstendto
commandhighersalaries.Theseoccupationsalsotendtoattractthemostskilledandableindividuals.
Inthecaseofteaching,thesetofskillsrequiredforentryintotheprofessionisnotashighlyspecialized
assomeothercomparableprofessionaloccupations.However,teachersvarysubstantiallyinabilityand
effectiveness,withhighqualityteachersmakingsignificantimpactsonstudentoutcomes.5Asaresult,
whilethecurrentrangeofteachingsalariesmightbesufficienttofillavailableteachingpositions,higher
salariesthataremorecompetitivewiththeoccupationsthattendtoattractthemostskilledand
effectiveworkerscouldenablerecruitmentofagreaternumberofhigherqualitycandidatesintothe
teachingfield,thusinfluencingstudentoutcomes.6
Workingconditionsareasecondfactorinwagecomparisonsacrossoccupations.Careersthatare
particularlydangeroustendtocommandapremiumtocompensatefornegativequalities.Othercareers
withmorefavorableworkingconditionscanattractindividualsevenifsalariesaresomewhatlower.
Suchpaydifferencesduetopositiveornegativeworkingconditionsareknownascompensating
differentials.Teachingjobshaveasetofconditionsthattendtobelargelyfavorableincomparisonto
otherprofessionaloccupations:weeksofworkperyearforafulltimepositionarelowerthanweeksof
workformanyotherfulltimeoccupations,andteachingtendstohaveafavorablesetofhealthand
retirementbenefits.
Inlightoftheseconsiderations,weuseavarietyofmethodstocompareteachingtootheroccupations
withinHawaii.Becauseoftheinherentdifferencesintheskills,attributes,andbenefitsacross
occuaptions,thisstudyputssalarycomparisonsinHawaiiwithinthecontextofsimilarsalary
comparisonsinotherstates.Forexample,ifregisterednursesacrossthecountrytendtoworkmore
Hanushek,E.A.,Kain,J.F.,&Rivkin,S.G.(2004).Whypublicschoolsloseteachers.JournalofHumanResources,
39(2),326354.andGuarino,C.M.,Santibanez,L.,Daley,G.A.,&Brewer,D.J.(2004).Areviewoftheresearch
literatureonteacherrecruitmentandretention.SantaMonica,CA:RANDCorporation.
5
Rockoff,J.E.(2004).Theimpactofindividualteachersonstudentachievement:Evidencefrompaneldata.
AmericanEconomicReview,247252.
6
Loeb,S.,&Page,M.E.(2000).Examiningthelinkbetweenteacherwagesandstudentoutcomes:Theimportance
ofalternativelabormarketopportunitiesandnonpecuniaryvariation.ReviewofEconomicsandStatistics,82(3),
393408.
13

hoursthanteachersortendtohavemoredifficultworkingconditions,itmightbeexpectedthatsalaries
forthisoccupationwouldbehigher.ButifthepaygapislargerinHawaiithaninotherstates,this
suggeststhatteachersinHawaiiareatacompetitivedisadvantage.Thisstudyalsoprovidesinformation
onbothbroadbasedcomparisonoccupationgroupsaswellasmorenarrowgroups.Finally,thisstudy
presentsunadjustedsalariesaswellassalariesafteraccountingfordifferencesinhours,weeksofwork,
characteristicsofworkers,andadvanceddegrees.
Sources of Information about Comparison Occupations

Thecomparablewagecomparisonreliesontwosourcesofdatatomakesalarycomparisonswithin
Hawaiiandacrossthenation.TheBureauofLaborStatistics(BLS)conductstheOccupational
EmploymentStatistics(OES)eachquarter.TheMay2013dataisthemostcurrentsourceofinformation
aboutsalariesacrossoccupations.Theadvantageofthisdataisitsbroadcoverageandrecentestimates.
TheOESsamplesaredesignedtoproduceaccurate,occupationlevelmeanwageandemploymentlevels
foreachstateintheUnitedStates.ThedisadvantageoftheOESdataisthatitisasurveyofemployers
only,andsodoesnotincludepersonalcharacteristicsofworkers.Asaresult,thedatacannotbe
adjustedforworkerscharacteristics(e.g.,workexperience,education,gender,hoursofwork).
ThesecondsourceofdataistheAmericanCommunitySurvey(ACS),anannualsurveybytheU.S.
Census.TheACSisaminicensusofhouseholds.SamplesizesaremuchlowerintheACSthaninthe
OESsurvey,andthereisalongerlagfortheACSdatarelease,with2012beingthemostcurentyear
available.Thisdatahasmuchsmallersamplesizes.Socomparisonstospecificoccupationsaremore
difficultwhenonlyafewindividualsreportagivenoccupation.However,thesedataarerichsourcesof
informationaboutpersonalcharacteristicsnotfoundintheOES:individualsreportsalaryincomealong
withdemographiccharacteristics,hoursandweeksofwork,andeducationlevel.Toincreasesample
sizes,thisanalysisusestheAmericanCommunitySurvey5Yearsample,whichcontainsdatafrom2008
2012.TheACSdatasampleisrestrictedtoindividualsmostsimilartoteachers.Thesampleisrestricted
toindividualswithaBachelorsdegreeorhigherwhoarenotcurrentlyinschoolandwhoarenotself
employed.Itisalsorestrictedtofulltimeworkers,definedtobethoseworkingmorethan27weeksper
yearandworkingmorethan35hoursperweek.Toexcludeindividualsclosetoretirementageorof
ageswhentheireducationmaynotbefullycomplete,itisalsorestrictedtoindividualsbetweenthe
agesof22and65.
Methodological Approach
Therearetwomainchallengesincomparingteachersalarieswithsalariesofotherworkers:identifying
occupationsofcomparisongroupsandadjustingforworkercharacteristics.
Identifying Comparison Occupations
Thefirstmethodologicalissueisdeterminingwhichoccupationstouseascomparisongroups.This
analysisusesfourbroadcategoriesforcomparisontoteachers:(1)othercollegeeducatedworkers;(2)
otherprofessionalandtechnicaloccupations;(3)occupationsmostsimilartoteaching;and(4)an
expandedsetofcomparisonoccupations.Inaddition,theexpandedsetofcomparisonoccupations
analysisincludesdisaggregationsforcomparisonswithsmalleroccupationalgroups.Thisanalysis
14

presentscomparisonswithfivenarroweroccupationalgroups:socialandcommunityservice
occupations,comparablebusinessoccupations,postsecondaryteachersandprofessors,registered
nursesandhealththerapists,andarchitectureandengineeringoccupations.
Comparison Group 1: Other College Educated Workers
ComparisonGroup1consistsofallothercollegeeducatedworkers.Thisapproachstartswiththefact
thatapotentialcollegestudentcanchoosefromanyoccupationopentoapersonwithaBachelors
degree,includingteaching.Someofthesepossibleoccupationsareunlikelytodrawincollegeeducated
workersaftertheyhavealreadyenteredtheteachingprofession.Forexample,ateachercouldnot
changecareersandbecomealawyerwithoutadditionaltraining.However,acollegestudentmaywell
considerthesalariesinlawalongwithsalariesinteachingwhenmakingacareerchoice.Anumberof
researchersandeconomistshaveusedwagesofcollegeeducatedworkersinmakingsalary
comparisons.7Thesestudiesfindthatsalariesofteachersrelativetosalariesofothercollegeeducated
workersaregoodindicatorsoftherelativeattractivenessofteaching.
Comparison Group 2: Professional and Technical Occupations
ComparisonGroups2through4arebasedontheskillsandattributesofthejob.Byformulating
comparisongroupsonthebasisofjobskillsandattributes,thesalariesofteachersmaybecompared
withthoseofothersimilarlyskilledoccupations.ComparisonGroups2through4varydependingon
howcloseofaskillmatchisusedforthecomparison.TheBureauofLaborStatisticsusesaStandard
OccupationalClassification(SOC)tocategorizeoccupationsbasedonworkperformed,skills,education,
and/ortraining(See2010SOCUsersGuideformoredetails).Occupationsaredividedinto23different
majorgroupings.
TeachersareintheEducation,Training,andLibraryOccupationsgroup.These23groupsarefurther
aggregatedintosixmajorcategories.TeachersbelongtotheProfessionalandtechnicaloccupations
category(OCCCodes11000through29999).8Thiscategoryisalsosometimesreferredtoas
Management,Business,ScienceandArtsOccupations.AppendixBliststhe11BLSdefined
occupationalgroupsincludedinthiscategory.
Comparison Group 3: EPI Identified Comparison Occupations
Morerefinedlistsofcomparableoccupationshavebeencreatedusingmatchesbasedonspecificskills
andattributesofoccupations.TheU.S.BureauofLaborStatisticsNationalCompensationSurveyreports
theskillsandattributesofoccupationsalong10dimensions,includingfactorssuchasknowledge
required,supervisionreceived,andcomplexityoftasks.TheEconomicPolicyInstitute(EPI)analyzedthis
datatoidentify16occupationsmostcomparabletoteaching.Thecomparisonoccupationsinclude
Taylor,L.L.(2008).Comparingteachersalaries:InsightsfromtheUSCensus.EconomicsofEducationReview,
27(1),4857.andLoeb,S.,&Page,M.E.(2000).Examiningthelinkbetweenteacherwagesandstudentoutcomes:
Theimportanceofalternativelabormarketopportunitiesandnonpecuniaryvariation.ReviewofEconomicsand
Statistics,82(3),393408.
8
TheotherfivecategoriesareService;SalesandOffice;NaturalResources,Construction,andMaintenance;
Production,Transportation,andMaterialMoving;andMiliarySpecific.
15

registerednurses,accountants,architects,healththerapists,andeducationcounselors,amongothers.
TheseoccupationsarelistedinAppendixB.Allegreto,CorcoranandMishel(2004)providethedetails
aboutthematchingprocess.9
Comparison Group 4: Expanded Comparison Group
TheEPIlistcontainshighlycomparableoccupations,butinsomecasesthereareveryfewindividualsin
agivenoccupation,althoughtheremaybemoreinotherrelatedoccupations.TheEPIlistalsodoesnot
containseveralspecificoccupationslistedintheHawaiiTeacherCompensationStudyRFQ.TheRequest
specificallylistedthecomparisonoccupationsofpostsecondaryteachers,nurses,therapists,social
workers,engineers,andarchitects.Althoughregisterednurses,healththerapists,andarchitectsare
includedintheEPIlist,thelistdoesnotidentifypostsecondaryteachers,counselors,socialworkers,or
engineersasmeetingtheircriteriaforcomparableoccupations.However,theskillsandongoingtraining
requiredbytheseoccupationsissimilartoskillsandtrainingrequiredinteaching.TheExpanded
ComparisonGroupisbasedontheEPIlistofcomparableoccupations,butadditionallyincludesall
occupationsinthesixoccupationalgroupswhereworkerskillsandtrainingaremostsimilartoteachers.
TheseoccupationsarelistedinAppendixB.
Theexpandedcomparisonoccupationsaredisaggregatedforcomparisonswithsmalleroccupational
groups.Thesearecommunityandsocialserviceoccupations;thecomparablebusinessoccupations(as
definedbyEPI);postsecondaryteachersandprofessors;registerednursesandhealththerapists;
architectureandengineeringoccupations;andallotheroccupationsintheeducation,training,and
libraryoccupations(otherthanK12teachersandpostsecondaryteachers).
AppendixBsummarizesthecomparisonoccupationsgroups.
Adjusting for the Characteristics of Workers and Occupations

Asecondmethodologicalissueiswhetherornottoadjustsalariesforworkerandjobcharacteristics.For
example,ifworkersinotheroccupationsinHawaiiareolderormoreexperiencedthanteachers,their
averagesalariesmaybehigher,eventhoughindividualswithsimilarworkexperiencemightinrealitybe
paidcomparably.Whilethisislessambiguousforexperience,whetherornottoadjustforother
characteristicshasbeensubjecttoconsiderabledebate.
Firsttoconsideristhejobcharacteristicofhoursandweeksofwork.Duetothelengthoftheschoolday
andschoolyear,teacherstypicallyworkfewercontracthoursandweeksofworkthanotherfulltime
workers.Someresearchersarguethatannualsalaryistheappropriatecomparison:Inthisview,
teachersmakinganemploymentdecisionarecomparingtheirpayoverthecourseoftheyearwithwhat
theywouldmakeinayearinanalternativecareer.Thisimpliesthatteacherswouldprefertowork
additionalhoursinthesummer,butarelimitedbythecharacteristicsofthejob.Othersarguethatusing
salaryperhourismoreappropriate:inthisview,teacherssummersoffareabenefitofthejob.Inthis
view,propsectiveandcurrentteacherscomparetheirpayperhourwithwhattheycouldmakeinthe
Allegretto,S.A.,Corcoran,S.P.,&Mishel,L.R.(2004).Howdoesteacherpaycompare?Methodological
challengesandanswers.Washington,D.C.:EconomicPolicyInstitute.
16

sametimeperiodinanotherjob.Althoughannualsalariesinteachingmightbelowerthaninanother
occupation,ifthehourlypayisthesame,teachingmaystillbeattractiveduetothelowerhoursand
fewerweeksofwork.Therealityisthatitislikelythatprospectiveandcurrentteachersprobablyvaryin
termsofwhichcomparisontheymake.Accordingly,theanalysispresentsbothhouradjustedandun
adjustedwages.10
Asecondissueinadjustingwagesiswhethertoadjustfortheworkercharacteristicofadvanced
degrees.IntheUnitedStatesasawhole,nearly60percentofteachershaveMastersorotheradvanced
degrees,amuchhigherproportionthanamongothercomparableoccupations.AlthoughMasters
degreesinteachingareassociatedwithhigherlanesonthesalaryschedule,someresearchersargue
thatthesedegreesarenotassociatedwithhigherperformance.
Finally,nonsalarybenefitsmaybedifferentamongoccupations.Retirementpensionsandhealth
insurancebenefitsarefairlystandardforteaching,butarebecominglesscommonforotherworkers.
However,thereismuchlesscomparabledataonretirementandhealthbenefitsfornonteaching
professions.Asaresult,thisanalysisincludessomeinformationontheprevalenceofemployerprovided
healthinsurancebenefitsforcomparableoccupations,butnoinformationonretirementbenefits.
Salary Comparisons: OES Data on Occupations in Hawaii and Other States

FigureIII1,FigureIII2,andTableIII1reporttheresultsfromthecomparisonofteachersalariesto
otheroccupationsalariesusinginformationfromOESdata.Again,theOESdataprovidesthebest
coverageofspecificoccupationsacrossandwithinstates,butcontainsnoinformationaboutworker
characteristics.Theresultsinthissectionexplorehowthemeasuredgapvariesacrossarangeof
occupationalgroups.
TeachersinHawaiiintheOESsurveymade,onaverage,$54,410in2013.AsshowninFigureII1,thisis
substantiallylessthaninthethreebroadoccupationalcategoriesfromComparisonGroups1through3
describedabove.
FiguresIII1andIII2showsalariesofteachersinHawaiirelativetotheotheroccupationsinHawaii,with
thebroadclassificationsinFigureIII1andthenarroweroccupationalfieldsinFigureIII2.FigureIII2
showsteachersalariesarelowerthansalariesinmanyspecificfields(ComparisonGroup4),withthe
exceptionofsocialandcommunityserviceoccupations(e.g.,counselorsandsocialworkers)andother
educationoccupations(notincludingoccupationsinpostsecondaryeducation).
10
SeeBallouandPodgursky(1997)andAllegreto,CorcoranandMishel(2004)formoredetailsofthisdebate.
17

FigureIII1:AverageAnnualSalariesinK12TeachingandBroadComparisonGroups,Hawaii2013
$70,000
$60,000
$50,000
$40,000
$30,000
$20,000
$10,000
$
Allteachers
Professional/technical Expandedcomparison
EPIcomparison
Source:OES2013.SeeAppendixBfordefinitionsofoccupationgroups.
FigureIII2:AverageAnnualSalariesinK12TeachingandSpecificComparisonOccupations,Hawaii
2013
$80,000
$70,000
$60,000
$50,000
$40,000
$30,000
$20,000
$10,000
$
ThedatainFiguresIII1andIII2showsthatteachersalariesinHawaiiarelowerthaninmanyofthe
comparisonoccupations.ThisleadstoaquestionaboutwhethersalarypatternsseeninHawaiiare
similartopatternsseeninotherstates.Althoughthereisasignificantpaygapbetweenteachersand
otherprofessionalworkersinHawaii,TableIII2indicatesthatteachersarepaidlessincomparison
occupationsinrestoftheUnitedStatesaswell.Asnoted,thismaybeinpartduetotheother
characteristicsoftheteachingprofession.TableIII2alsoshowsthatprofessionalsalariesarelowerin
HawaiithanintherestoftheUnitedStates.
18
TableIII1
AverageAnnualWagesofTeachersandComparisonOccupations
Hawaii
OtherStatesinUS
K12Teachers
$54,410
$56,560
BroadComparisonGroupOccupations
OtherProfessional/technicaloccupations
$69,196
$74,898
Expandedcomparisongroup
$58,290
$65,293
EPIcomparisongroup
$62,799
$69,484
ByIndividualOccupationFields
Socialservicesandcommunityoccupations
$43,746
$44,722
Othereducationoccupations
(NonK12teachersorPostsecondary)
$46,303
$46,681
Comparablebusinessoccupations(SeeEPIlist)
$60,409
$68,772
Postsecondaryteachers
$69,215
$73,370
RegisteredNursesandhealththerapists
$73,174
$73,263
Architecture/Engineeringoccupations
$76,733
$80,024
Source:OES2013.SeeTable1fordefinitionsofoccupationgroups.
TableIII2quantifiesthedifferencesinprofessionalsalariesinHawaiicomparedtotherestoftheUnited
States.However,thisgeographicpaydifferentialvariesbyoccupation.TeachersinHawaiimakeabout
fourpercentlessthanteachersintherestoftheUnitedStates.Registerednurses,healththerapists,
socialandcommunityserviceworkers,andothereducationworkersmakeaboutthesamesalaryin
Hawaiiasinotherstates.Thepaygapforthebroadergroupsofprofessionalandtechnicaloccupations
andaggregatedcomparisonoccupationsislarger,withHawaiiwagesabout10percentlowerthan
wagesintherestoftheUS.
19
TableIII2
AverageAnnualWagesinHawaiiRelativetoWagesinOtherStatesinUS
HawaiiAnnualWagesasa
PercentageofUSAnnual
Wages
AllTeachers
96%
ComparisonGroup1:Professional/technicaloccupations
92%
ComparisonGroup2:Expandedcomparisongroup
89%
ComparisonGroup3:EPIcomparisonoccupations
90%
Socialserviceandcommunityoccupations
98%
Othereducation
99%
Comparablebusinessoccupations
88%
94%
100%
Architecture/engineeringOccupations
96%
TableIII3reportsthepaygapbetweenteachingwagesandotheroccupationsinHawaiiandintherest
oftheUnitedStates.InHawaii,teachersmakealittlemorethanthreefourthsofwhatother
professionalandtechnicalworkersmake.Thegapissomewhatsmallerforcomparisonoccupations.The
expandedgroupofcomparisonoccupationsshowsagapofsixpercent,whilethegaprelativetotheEPI
definedcomparisonoccupationsis15percent.TeachersinHawaiimakemorethansocialand
communityserviceoccupationsandmorethanothereducationoccupations(withtheexceptionofpost
secondaryteachersandprofessors).TeachersinHawaiimakeabout10percentlessthantheEPIdefined
comparablebusinessoccupations.Thepaygaprelativetopostsecondaryteachersandprofessors,
registerednursesandhealththerapists,andarchitectureandengineeringoccupationsismuchlarger,at
20to30percent.
However,thepaygaptendstobeevenlargerintherestoftheUnitedStates.Theonlyexceptionisfor
registerednursesandhealththerapists,whereteacherpayinHawaiirelativetotheseoccupationsis
lowerthanintherestoftheUS.
20

TableIII3
WagesinTeachingasaPercentageofWagesinComparisonGroupOccupation
Hawaii
UnitedStates
TeachingWage
100%
100%
Group1:Professional/technicaloccupations
78.6%
75.5%
Group2:Expandedcomparisongroup
93.3%
86.6%
Group3:EPIcomparisongroup
86.6%
81.4%
Socialservicesandcommunityoccupations
124.4%
126.5%
Othereducation
117.5%
121.2%
Comparablebusinessoccupations
90.1%
82.2%
78.6%
77.1%
74.4%
77.2%
Architecture/engineeringOccupations
70.9%
70.7%
FigureIII3showsteachingsalariesasapercentageofcomparisonoccupationsalariesinHawaii(the
darkershadedbars)andintheUnitedStates(thelightershadedbars).Overall,thepaygapinHawaiiis
similartothegapintheUnitedStates,withsomewhathigherratiosinmostcomparableoccupations.
FigureIII3:WagesinTeachingasaPercentageofWagesinComparisonGroupOccupations,Hawaii
andOtherStatesinUS
140%
120%
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
HI
USA
21
Salary Comparisons: ACS Data on Individuals in Hawaii and Other States

TheOESdatahavetheadvantageofhavingahighlevelofcoverage,enablingcomparisonsforrelatively
narrowoccupationgroups.However,theOESdonotcontaincharacteristicsofindividuals.Toseehow
teachercharacteristicscomparewithcharacteristicsofotherworkers,andtoseehowsalariesare
relatedtothesecharacteristics,theACSisthebestsourceofdata.
TableIII4reportsaveragecharacteristicsofthesampleoffulltime,fullyearworkersinHawaiiandin
otherstates.Thistableusestwocomparisongroups:allworkerswithatleastaBachelorsdegree,and
workerswithaBachelorsdegreewhoareinoneoftheEPIdefinedcomparableoccupations
(ComparisonGroup3).
TableIII4
AverageCharacteristicsofFullTimeWorkersinHawaiiandOtherStates
AmericanCommunitySurvey5YearSample2012
(StandardDeviationsofCharacteristicsinParentheses)
Hawaii
Teachers
Comparable
Occupations,
BA+
AllNon
teachers
withBA+
Teachers
Comparable
Occupations,
BA+
AllNon
teachers
withBA+
$50,011
$63,526
$69,606
$53,341
$72,542
$73,553
(14852)
(34810)
(20064)
(20064)
(53621)
(52088)
43.44
43.2
44.84
43.79
43.74
44.87
(8.00)
(7.73)
(7.17)
(7.17)
(7.13)
(9.14)
0.13
0.04
0.05
0.24
0.05
0.05
(0.33)
(0.20)
(0.43)
(0.43)
(0.22)
(0.21)
0.95
0.94
0.89
0.96
0.93
0.91
(0.22)
(0.24)
(0.31)
(0.19)
(0.26)
(0.28)
0.52
0.37
0.32
0.57
0.37
0.36
(0.50)
(0.48)
(0.50)
(0.50)
(0.48)
(0.47)
43.9
44.82
44.76
44.14
42.98
43.27
(11.41)
(11.35)
(11.22)
(11.22)
(11.35)
(11.34)
0.71
0.59
0.48
0.76
0.56
0.45
(0.45)
(0.49)
(0.43)
(0.43)
(0.50)
(0.50)
0.62
0.68
0.61
0.15
0.23
0.22
(0.49)
(0.47)
(0.36)
(0.36)
(0.42)
(0.49)
657
746
6,552
133,893
168,036
1,392,987
Annual
wage/salary
income
UsualHours
workedper
week
WorkLessthan
48weeksper
year
Insurance
provided
Advanced
degree
Age
Female
Nonwhite
Observations
OtherStatesinUS
22

Thedataisrestrictedtoindividualswiththefollowingcharacteristics:(1)notcurrentlyinschool;(2)
possessaBachelorsdegreeorhigher;(3)workmorethan27weeksperyear;(4)workmorethan35
hoursperweek;(5)arenotselfemployed;and(6)arebetweentheagesof22and65.Thecomparable
occupationsarejobssimilartoteachingasidentifiedbytheEconomicPolicyInstitute(2004):
accountantsandauditors,registerednurses,occupationaltherapists,physicaltherapists,tradeand
industrialteachers,vocationalandeducationalcounselors,underwriters,personneltrainingandlabor
relationsspecialists,inspectorsandcomplianceofficers(exceptconstruction),architects,forestryand
conservationscientists,archivistsandcurators,clergy,technicalwriters,editorsandreporters,and
computerprogrammers(Category3above).
TheACSalsoindicatesthatteachersinHawaiimakesubstantiallylessthannonteachers.Theaverage
teachermakesabout40percentlessthantheaveragecollegeeducatednonteacher,andabout25
percentlessthantheaveragecollegeeducatedindividualinacomparableoccupation.Theestimated
paygapforthisoccupationgroupissimilartotheestimatedgapintheOESdata.TeachersinHawaiiand
intheU.S.workaboutanhourlessperweekthanothercollegeeducatedworkers,andtheywork
substantiallyfewerweeks13percentofteachersinHawaiiworkfewerthan48weeksperyear,while
onlyfivepercentofothercollegeeducatedworkershaveasshortofanannualcalendar.However,
teachersinHawaiiaremorelikelytoworkmoreweeksannuallythanteachersinotherpartsofthe
UnitedStates:ThirteenpercentofHawaiiteachersworkfewerthan48weeksperyear,comparedto24
percentofteachersintherestoftheUnitedStates.TeachersinHawaiiarealsosomewhatmorelikelyto
haveinsuranceofferedthroughtheiremploymentthanothercollegeeducatedworkers,althoughthe
proportionissimilartothemostcomparableoccupations.Theyarealsoslightlyyoungerthanother
collegeeducatedworkers,andtheyaremorelikelytobefemale.Theyaresubstantiallymorelikelyto
haveaMastersorotheradvanceddegree.
TableIII5performssimilarsalarycomparisonsasabove,butincludesadjustedwages.Theunadjusted
wagesarethesameasshowninTableIII4.Theadjustmentsaremadetocontrolforworkforce
characteristicssuchasaverageeducationlevelsandageandoccupationalcharacteristicssuchashours
andweeksworkedperyear.Essentially,theadjustmentmethodologyasks,Iftheaveragenonteacher
hadcharacteristicsthatwerethesameastheaverageteacherinHawaii,whatwouldtheiraverage
salarybe?Wagesareadjustedbyperformingaregressionanalysisforeachcategoryofworker(e.g.,
comparableworkersinHawaii,allworkerswithaBAinHawaii,etc.).Theregressioncoefficientsindicate
therelationshipsalaryhastoeachcharacteristicinthatoccupationandlocation.Forexample,non
teachersinHawaiimakeabout$1,340moredollarsperyearforeveryadditionalhourperweekworked
above35hours.Thehourpremiuminthecomparisonoccupationsissomewhatlower,at$570more
dollarsperyear.Thewagesarethenadjustedbymultiplyingtheregressioncoefficientsbytheaverage
characteristicsofteachersinHawaii.ThismethodologyisknownasanOaxacaDecomposition.
Asnotedearlier,theexactcharacteristicsusedtoadjustwagesissomewhatcontroversial,withvarious
partiestakingdifferentpositionsonwhethertoadjustfortheshorterhoursandweeksofwork,
advanceddegrees,andotherdemographiccharacteristics.TableIII5showsthattheadjustmentmatters
23

somewhat.However,ineventhemostconservativecase,teachersinHawaiistillmake25percentless
thanothercomparableworkersinHawaii,withpaygapsthatareevenlargerwhencomparedtoall
professionalandtechnicalworkers.However,asintheOESdata,thepaygapforteachersrelativeto
otheroccupationsisevenlargerintherestoftheUnitedStateswiththesmallestdifferentialbeing
about32percent.
TableIII5
TeachingandNonteachingSalariesAdjustedforIndividualCharacteristics,
AmericanCommunitySurvey5YearSample2012
SalaryAdjustedto
SalaryAdjustedto
SalaryAdjustedto MatchEducationand MatchHours,Weeks
MatchHoursand
Personal
ofWorkandPersonal
Actual
WeeksofWorkof
CharacteristicsofHI
CharacteristicsofHI
Salary
HITeachers
Teachers
Teachers
Hawaii
Teachers
Comparable
Workers
AllFulltime
workerswithBA
$50,011
$63,526
$62,484
$64,566
$63,303
$69,606
$65,940
$73,892
$70,720
$54,605
$54,725
US
Teachers
$53,341
$53,468
Comparable
$72,542
$70,652
$77,952
$76,711
Workers
AllFulltime
$73,553
$78,480
$87,216
$83,677
workerswithBA
Source:IPUMSACS5Year2012.
Thesampleisrestrictedtoindividualsnotcurrentlyinschool,withaBachelorsdegreeorhigher,
workingmorethan27weeksperyear,workingmorethan35hoursperweek,notselfemployed,and
betweentheagesof22and65.Thecomparableoccupationsarejobssimilartoteaching,asidentified
bytheEconomicPolicyInstitute(2004).SeeAppendixBfordetails.
Conclusion
BasedonOESandACSdata,teachersinHawaiimake,onaverage,lessthanmostothercomparable
occupationsinHawaii.Thelargestgap(about40percent)isforaverageteachersalaryrelativeto
averagesalariesforallcollegeeducatedworkers.Gapsformorenarrowlydefinedcomparable
occupationstendtobesmaller,withestimatedgapsofabout10to25percent.Gapsareparticularly
largerelativetonursesandotherhealththerapists,butteachersalariesarehigheronaveragethanthe
salariesofsocialandcommunityserviceworkersandothereducationoccupations.Adjustinggapsfor
teachercharacteristicsonlymarginallychangestheoverallratios.However,thegapsinHawaiirelative
tootheroccupationstendtobeontheorderoffivepercentagepointssmallerthanparallelgapsinthe
UnitedStatesasawhole.
24
IV. SALARY STRUCTURE AND LEVEL COMPARISONS

ThefollowingsectioncomparesHawaiisteachersalarystructuretothatofotherschooldistrictsfrom
acrossthecountry.Wefirstdescribehowcomparisondistrictswereselectedforthestudy.Second,we
compareHawaiissalarystructuretocomparisondistrictsstructures.Third,wecompareHawaiisyearly
salariestothoseofcomparisondistrictswithoutadjustingforworkloadorcostofliving.Finally,we
comparesalaries,adjustingforworkloadandcostoflivingindividuallyandthentogether.
Selecting Comparison Districts

SelectingdistrictstouseinacomparisonofteachersalarystructuresandlevelsisdifficultforHawaii.
Hawaiiisuniquebecauseitistheonlystatewideschooldistrictinthecountryandbecauseofits
desirableislandlocation.Often,whenselectingcomparisondistricts,onewouldfocuson:districts
competingdirectlywiththestudydistrictforinstatepersonnel;thosedistrictscompetingforthesame
outofstatepersonnel;anddistrictsofsimilarsizeand/ordemographicsfrombothinandoutofstate.
Hawaiisuniquecircumstancesprovideitwithnoneighboringdistrictsforwhichitcompetesfor
personnel,noranyobviousoutofstatedistrictswithwhichitgenerallycompetes.11
Still,comparisondistrictsforHawaiicanbeselectedbasedonfactorslikesizeanddemographics.Tofind
suchcomparisondistricts,APAexaminedtheNationalCenterforEducationStatisticsdataforthe2011
12schoolyear,themostrecentdataavailable,lookingatdistrictswithover100,000students.APA
identifiedanumberofdistrictssimilarinsizetoHawaiithatalsohaveasimilarpercentageofstudents
eligibleforfreeandreducedpricelunches.TableIV1belowshowsthedistrictsselectedbasedonsize
anddemographics.
TableIV1
DistrictName
Hawaii
Broward
ClarkCounty
FairfaxCounty
Houston
MiamiDade
MontgomeryCounty
PalmBeach
SanDiego^
WakeCounty
State
Hawaii
TotalPublic
Students
182,705
Florida
Nevada
Virginia
Texas
Florida
Maryland
Florida
California
NorthCarolina
258,478
312,892
177,551
203,012
350,239
146,459
176,901
130,719
148,120
Free/ReducedLunch
Percentage
49.30%
57.1%
59.5%
25.7%
44.9%
71.9%
32.2%
53.5%
34.5%
^SanDiego'sFRLdatawasnotavailablebutthedistrictwasselectedbasedonsizeandbecauseitwasidentifiedbyHawaii
staffasagoodcomparisondistrict.
11
BasedonconversationswithDOEstaffwhenselectingcomparisondistricts.
25

IndiscussionswithHawaiiDOEstaffitbecameclearthatthelargemilitarypresenceinHawaiihasan
impactontheavailableteachingpool.Withthisinmind,APAalsoidentifiedanumberofdistrictsthat
alsohavealargemilitarypresencetouseforcomparison.AmembershiporganizationcalledtheMilitary
ImpactedSchoolsAssociationrepresentsdistrictswithalargemilitarypresenceintheirschools.Hawaii
isamemberofthisorganization,andthethreedistrictswiththelargestoverallstudentenrollmentwere
chosenfromthemembershiplisttoincludeascomparisondistricts.TableIV2liststhethreedistricts
withtheirsizeandfreeandreducedpricelunchinformation.
TableIV2
AgencyName
Hawaii
CumberlandCounty
Killeen
VirginiaBeach
State
Hawaii
NorthCarolina
Texas
Virginia
TotalPublic
Students
182,705
Free/Reduced
LunchPercentage
49.3%
53,048
40,998
70,978
47.9%
41.8%
28.5%
APAcollectedsalarystructureinformationforallthecomparisondistricts;thisgenerallyincludeda
salaryschedule,contractdays,and,whenpossible,workloadinformationsuchaslengthofday.APAalso
identifiedthetotalnumberofpaiddaysforeachdistrict,afactordiscussedlaterinthissection.
Structure of District Salary Systems

Asistrueofmanydistricts,Hawaiissalaryscheduleincludesadjustmentsbothforteachereducation
levelandteacherexperience.Educationrecognitionincludessixpossibleclasses,startingwithClassII(a
Bachelorsdegree)andendingwithClassVII(aDoctorateorateacherwithaMastersdegreewhohas
alsoaccumulated60credits).TeacherswithaBachelorsdegreeand30creditsareinClassIII,alongwith
thosewithMastersdegrees.Additionalincrementsof15creditsdifferentiateClassesIVthroughVI.The
recognitionofexperienceisexpressedin15possiblesteps.
TableIV3showsthenumberofeducationalclasses,numberofsteps,minimumandmaximumsalaries,
andtherangebetweentheminimumandmaximumsalariesforHawaiiandthecomparisondistricts12.
Hawaiis201415salaryschedulehasaminimumsalaryinthesalaryschedule,forteacherswhohave
completedaSATEPof$44,538(usingExhibitBfromtheJuly1,2013agreementastonotinclude
additionalpayforthe21extrahoursandtheadditionalPDday).Thisdoesnotincludeanyadditional
stipendsteachersmaybeabletoearn,butonlyexaminesbasepayfromthesalaryschedule.The
maximumpayisforateacheratStep14BwithaDoctorateorMastersand60credits,at$81,703.This
representsatotalrangeofpossiblebasesalaryof$37,165.
12
DataforMiamiDadeareforthe201314schoolyear,sincedataisnotyetavailableforthe201415schoolyear.
DataforHoustonarealsoforthe201314schoolyear,asthecompensationisshiftinginthedistrictandthe2013
14schoolyearismostcomparabledataavailableforthisanalysis.
26

TableIV3
Hawaii
Broward
Clark
CumberlandCounty
FairfaxCounty
Houston
Killeen
MiamiDade
MontgomeryCounty
PalmBeach
SanDiego
VirginiaBeach
WakeCounty
ComparisonAverage
Numberof
Education Number Minimum Maximum
Classes
ofSteps
Salary
Salary
6
15
$44,538
$81,703
4
9
2
6
3
3
4
4
5
5
3
2
20
14
33
27
19
21
20
20
27
17
36
37
$40,000
$34,684
$33,000
$46,756
$46,805
$43,500
$40,500
$46,410
$39,000
$42,210
$40,624
$35,189
$79,250
$72,427
$57,530
$100,898
$75,866
$52,755
$77,525
$103,364
$79,750
$87,177
$73,935
$68,884
24
$40,723
$77,447
Range
$37,165
$39,250
$37,743
$24,530
$54,142
$29,061
$9,255
$37,025
$56,954
$40,750
$44,968
$33,311
$33,695
$36,724
ThemajorityofcomparisondistrictssalaryscheduleshavefewerclasslevelsthanHawaii.Theaverage
numberofclasslevelsforcomparisondistrictsisfour.Comparisondistrictsalsotendtoalignclasses
morecloselytodegreeattainmentthantosimplyearningadditionalcredits.
Comparisondistrictshave,onaverage,24stepsamuchhighernumberthanHawaiis15.When
lookingonlyatthestepsforteacherswhohavecompletedaSATEP,Hawaiihasjust12steps.Therange
forthecomparisondistrictsislarge,from11to37steps.LikeHawaii,districtswithfewerstepshaveless
alignmentbetweenstepsandyearsofservice.Thismeansthatteachersspendmoretimeineach
individualstep.Thus,teachersdonothavesalaryincreasesunlessanoverallsalaryincreaseoccurs,or
unlesstheyattainahigherclasslevel.Districtswithmorestepstendtohavecloseralignmentbetween
yearsofserviceandsteps.Still,manydistrictsdonotallowyoungteacherstomoveupstepsuntilthey
arefewyearsintotheircareer.
ThesalaryinformationinTableIV3hasnotbeenadjustedforjobcharacteristicssuchasworkload,days
orhours,orcostoflivingdifferencesbetweendistricts.Theexaminationissimplybasedontotalsalary
figures,andprovidesacomparisonoftherawsalariesofHawaiiandthecomparisondistricts.Also,
HawaiisalariesareexaminedonlyatStep5andabove;Steps1through3areonlyforteacherswhohave
notcompletedanSATEP,thecomparisondistrictsdidnothavecomparablesteps.Hawaiisminimum
salary,$44,358,ishigherthantheaverageminimumsalaryofcomparisondistricts,whichis$40,723.
Hawaiishighestpossiblesalary,$81,703,isalsohigherthancomparisondistrictsaverageof$77,447.
27

Therangebetweenminimumandmaximumsalariesaverages$36,724,whichisverysimilartothe
Hawaiirangeof$37,165.
TableIV4showsminimumandmaximumsalariesforBachelors,Masters,andDoctoratedegree
classes.
TableIV4
Hawaii
Broward
Clark
CumberlandCounty
FairfaxCounty
Houston
Killeen
MiamiDade
MontgomeryCounty
PalmBeach
SanDiego
VirginiaBeach
WakeCounty
ComparisonAverage
Minimum Maximum
BASalary BASalary
$44,538
$63,446
$40,000
$34,684
$33,000
$46,756
$46,805
$43,500
$40,500
$46,410
$39,000
$42,210
$40,624
$35,189
$71,250
$41,292
$50,000
$85,948
$68,856
$51,000
$70,325
$62,201
$73,750
$66,707
$69,835
$62,354
$40,723
$64,460
Minimum Maximum Minimum Maximum

MA
MA
Doctorate Doctorate
Salary
Salary
Salary
Salary
$48,100
$68,522
$57,353
$81,703
$43,650
$74,900
$48,000
$79,250
$40,276
$53,342
$46,008
$69,281
$36,300
$55,000
$38,830
$57,530
$52,530
$97,188
$56,164 $100,898
$47,876
$72,360
$48,948
$75,866
$44,675
$52,175
$45,255
$52,755
$43,600
$73,425
$47,700
$77,525
$51,128
$96,966
$42,000
$76,750
$45,000
$79,750
$44,785
$76,746
$43,124
$72,335
$44,724
$73,935
$38,877
$68,884
$44,068
$72,506
$46,737
$74,088
Again,TableIV4onlylooksatHawaiisalariesforStep5andabove.Hawaiiminimumsalariesarehigher
thanalloftheaverageminimumsalaryfiguresforcomparisondistricts,andtheHawaiiminimumis
muchhigherforemployeeswithaDoctorateoraMastersplus60credits.Comparisondistrictaverage
maximumsalariesarehigherforbothBachelorsandMastersdegrees.TheHawaiiDoctoratemaximum
salaryismuchhigherthanthecomparisondistrictaverage.However,theamountofgrowththatcan
occurbetweenminimumandmaximumsalariesineachclasstendstobesmallerinHawaiithanin
comparisondistricts.Thatis,Hawaiiteachershavelessroomforsalarygrowthwithinaclassthan
teachersincomparisondistricts.
Theanalysisabove,inTablesIV3andIV4,comparestheminimumandmaximumsalarypointsfor
Bachelors,Masters,andDoctorateclasses.Thenextsectionprovidesdetailedcomparisonsof12salary
pointsoftheHawaiisalaryscheduletothecomparisondistricts.Thecomparisonsarebasedonthe
distributionofteachersinHawaiis201314salaryschedule.Theanalysisbeginsbyexaminingthe
28

proportionofteachersineachcellofHawaiissalaryschedule.TableIV5showsthedistributionof
teachersinHawaiissalaryschedulebypercentageofteachersineachcell.
Step ClassII
1
1.2%
2
0.2%
3
0.0%
5
4.1%
6
7.0%
7
1.3%
8
2.9%
9
0.4%
10
0.3%
11
0.1%
12
0.1%
13
0.2%
14
0.1%
14A
0.1%
14B
0.0%
ClassIII
0.1%
0.0%
0.1%
4.9%
11.7%
3.2%
5.7%
0.8%
0.6%
0.2%
0.1%
0.4%
0.2%
0.1%
0.1%
TableIV5
ClassIV ClassV
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.3%
0.1%
2.0%
0.8%
1.3%
0.8%
3.7%
3.0%
0.9%
1.1%
0.7%
0.8%
0.2%
0.2%
0.2%
0.2%
0.4%
0.5%
0.2%
0.2%
0.1%
0.1%
0.1%
0.1%
ClassVI
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.4%
0.5%
2.7%
1.0%
0.9%
0.2%
0.3%
0.6%
0.4%
0.2%
0.3%
ClassVII
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.1%
0.4%
1.0%
5.9%
4.3%
4.4%
1.4%
1.5%
3.8%
2.4%
1.4%
1.9%
Thegoaloftheanalysisistoidentifykeycomparisonpointsintermsofteachereducationand
experiencelevelsbetweenHawaiiandotherdistrictsbasedonthecurrentdistributionofHawaii
teachers.TableIV5showsthatinClassII,therearealargenumberofteachersinSteps5,6,and8.In
ClassIII,alargepercentagesofteachersarealsoinSteps6,7,and8.ClassIVhas3.7percentofall
teachersinStep8andClassVhasthreepercentoftheteachersinStep8.ClassVIIhashighpercentages
ofteachersinSteps8,9,10,and13.
Usingthisinformation,APAidentified12cellstouseascomparisonpointsinamoreindepthsalary
comparisonanalysis.Tomakethecomparisonspossible,apredictednumberofyearsmustbeassigned
toeachsteplevelintheanalysis.BasedontheinformationprovidedinSectionIIonexperience(TableII
5),APAcreatedtheimputedyearsofexperienceseeninTableIV6.
HawaiipaysthesameforteacherswithaBachelorsand30creditsasforteacherswithaMasters
degreeinClassIII.Manyofthecomparisondistricts,however,differentiatebetweenthosetwolevelsof
education.Withthisinmind,APAexaminesClassIIIpayforteacherswithaBachelorsplus30credits
separatelyfromteacherswithaMastersdegree.Lookingatthesepayratescreates15comparison
points.Dataforall15pointsisshowninallcomparisontables.
29

TableIV6
ComparisonPoints
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
HawaiiClass
ClassII
ClassII
ClassII
ClassIII
ClassIII
ClassIII
ClassIV
ClassV
ClassVII
ClassVII
ClassVII
ClassVII
HawaiiStep
5
6
7
5
6
8
8
8
8
9
10
13
ImputedYearsof
Experience
3
5
9
3
5
11
13
13
14
22
24
27
TheanalysisofcomparisontotalsalariesisshowninTablesIV7A7C.Thesetablesshowinformationon
Hawaiissalary,theaveragesalaryofthe12comparisondistricts,theminimumsalaryofcomparison
districts,themaximumsalaryofcomparisondistricts,thenumberofdistrictsbelowHawaiissalary,and
thennumberaboveHawaiissalary.Thisformatwillbeusedforallsalarycomparisontablesinthis
section.Noadjustmentshavebeenmadefornumberofdaysworkedorgeographiccostdifferences.
TableIV7Abelowshowsthat,forthefirstfivecomparisonpoints,lookingatClassesIIandIII(BA),
HawaiitendstohavehighersalariesforComparisonPoints1,2,4,and5.Thecomparisonaverageis
higherforComparisonPoint3,ClassIIwithnineyearsofexperience.Inallcases,moredistrictshave
salariesbelowHawaiisthanaboveHawaiis.
TablesIV7AandIV7Bshowthataveragesalariesforcomparisondistrictsarearoundtwotothree
thousanddollarshigherforthosewithaMastersdegreeversusthosewithaBachelorsplus30credits.
ThoughHawaiissalariesarestillhigherforteacherswithfeweryearsofexperience,Hawaiispayfora
Mastersdegreewith11yearsofexperienceislowerthanthecomparisonaverage.Thisisalsotruefor
ClassIVpaywith13yearsofexperience.
30
Class
YearsofExperience
HawaiiSalary
ComparisonAverage
Salary
Comparison
Minimum
Comparison
Maximum
NumberBelow
Hawaii
NumberAbove
Hawaii
TableIV7A
ComparisonofTotalSalaries
Comparison Comparison Comparison Comparison Comparison
1
2
3
4
5
ClassII
ClassII
ClassII
ClassIII(BA) ClassIII(BA)
3
5
9
3
5
$44,538
$45,874
$47,250
$48,100
$49,544
$42,437
$43,887
$47,333
$43,226
$44,732
$33,000
$35,189
$36,500
$33,000
$35,189
$49,995
$53,478
$62,201
$51,801
$53,478
Class
YearsofExperience
Hawaii
ComparisonAverage
Minimum
Maximum
NumberBelow
Hawaii
NumberAbove
Hawaii
TableIV7B
6
7
8
9
10
ClassIII(BA) ClassIIIMA ClassIIIMA ClassIIIMA
ClassIV
11
3
5
11
13
$52,561
$50,445
$40,000
$66,163
$48,100
$45,701
$36,300
$56,066
$49,544
$47,312
$38,877
$60,466
$52,561
$53,676
$44,000
$75,850
$54,663
$56,161
$44,000
$81,802
TableIV7Cshowsthat,evenatthehigherlevelsofeducationandexperience,Hawaiitendstopaymore
thanmostofthecomparisondistricts,asshownbythenumberofdistrictsbelowHawaii.Yet,the
averagesalariesofcomparisondistrictsarehigherforfourofthecomparisonpointspresentedinTable
IV7C.Thelargestgapisforteacherswith24yearsofexperience,inClassVII.
31
Class
YearsofExperience
Hawaii
ComparisonAverage
Minimum
Maximum
NumberBelow
Hawaii
NumberAbove
Hawaii
TableIV7C
11
12
13
14
15
ClassV
ClassVII
ClassVII
ClassVII
ClassVII
13
14
22
24
27
$56,850
$57,853
$44,000
$85,285
$62,672
$59,324
$44,000
$90,051
$66,489
$68,171
$51,150
$101,354
$68,482
$71,052
$51,150
$103,634
$72,653
$73,063
$52,175
$103,634
Adjusting for Work Load and Geographic Cost Differences

Next,wecomparethesalaries,adjustingforbothworkloadandgeographiccostdifferences.Workload
adjustmentsincludecontractdays,totalcontracthours,andpaiddays.Geographiccostdifferences
adjustmentsincludetheComparableWageIndex(CWI)andCostofLiving(COL)adjustment.
Workload
Thenexttableslookatthecomparisonpointsbyexaminingtheimpactsofdifferencesinteacher
workloads.Workloadcanbeexaminedinafewways,butitgenerallyincludesthenumberofdays
contractedforworkandthenumberofhourscontractedperday.Itisimportanttorememberthat
contracthoursonlyreflectthenumberofdaysexplicitlyinthecontract,anddonotincludeanyhours
teachersworkoutsideofcontracthours.Forthisstudy,wearealsolookingatthepaiddaysforeach
district.Paiddaysincludepaidvacationdayswithinthecontractyear.Mostofthecomparisondistricts
didnothaveexplicitfiguresforpaiddays,soweexaminedcalendarstoestimatethepaiddaysfor
teachersineachofthe12districts.TableIV8showsHawaiisfigures,comparisonaverage,comparison
minimum,andcomparisonmaximumforcontractdays,workhours,andpaiddays.
Hawaiihas1.5fewerdaysthanthecomparisondistrictaverage.Hawaiisaveragenumberofworkhours
isahalfanhourlowerthanthecomparisondistrictaverage.Nodistricthasfewerworkhoursthan
Hawaii,thoughanumberofdistrictshaveequivalentsevenhourworkdays.Paiddaysrangefrom204
to222days,withthecomparisondistrictaverageat211.5,5.5daysbelowHawaiispaiddays.Again,
mostpaiddaysfiguresareestimatesbasedonthecalendarofeachcomparisondistrict.Hawaiihad
about1percentfewerdaysand8percentfewerhoursthancomparisondistricts,butabout2percent
morepaiddays.
32
TableIV8
ComparisonofContractDays,WorkHours,andPaidDays
ContractDays
WorkHours
PaidDays
Hawaii
190.0
7.0
216.0
ComparisonAverage
191.5
7.5
211.5
ComparisonMinimum
184.0
7.0
204.0
ComparisonMaximum
200.0
8.0
222.0
TablesIV9A9Cshowthe15comparisonpointsafteradjustingforcontractdays.TablesIV10A10C
thenlookatthecomparisons,adjustingfortotalcontracthours.
Class
YearsofExperience
Hawaii
ComparisonAverage
Minimum
Maximum
NumberBelow
Hawaii
NumberAbove
Hawaii
TableIV9A
ComparisonAdjustingforContractDays
1
2
3
4
5
ClassII
ClassII
ClassII
3
5
9
3
5
$44,538
$42,159
$32,320
$48,713
$45,874
$43,607
$34,463
$52,453
$47,250
$47,019
$35,747
$60,910
$48,100
$42,960
$32,320
$51,358
$49,544
$44,465
$34,463
$55,114
TablesIV9AaboveandTablesIV9BandIV9Cbelowallshowthatwhenadjustmentsaremadefor
contractdays,Hawaiissalariestendtobecomemorecompetitiveinrelationshiptothecomparison
groupaverage.Themovementisnotlarge,butisenoughtocauseHawaiissalarytobeabovethe
comparisonaverageforsomecomparisons,whereitwasbelowtheaverageswithoutadjustments
(showninTables7A7C).However,Hawaiissalaryisstilllowerthanthecomparisondistrictaveragefor
ComparisonPoints13and14.
33
Class
YearsofExperience
Hawaii
ComparisonAverage
Minimum
Maximum
NumberBelow
Hawaii
NumberAbove
Hawaii
TableIV9B
6
7
8
9
10
ClassIII(BA) ClassIIIMA ClassIIIMA ClassIIIMA
ClassIV
11
3
5
11
13
$52,561
$50,145
$39,175
$68,320
$48,100
$45,401
$35,552
$54,628
$49,544
$47,008
$38,076
$58,916
$52,561
$53,322
$43,093
$73,905
$54,663
$55,789
$43,093
$79,705
Class
YearsofExperience
Hawaii
ComparisonAverage
Minimum
Maximum
NumberBelow
Hawaii
NumberAbove
Hawaii
TableIV9C
11
12
13
14
15
ClassV
ClassVII
ClassVII
ClassVII
ClassVII
13
14
22
24
27
$56,850
$57,512
$43,093
$83,098
$62,672
$58,980
$43,093
$87,742
$66,489
$67,721
$50,095
$98,755
$68,482
$70,547
$50,095
$100,977
$72,653
$72,514
$53,012
$100,977
Toexaminetotalworkload,contractdaysandhoursperdaycanbemultipliedtocreatetotalhours
contractedperyear.Hawaiistotalworkload,190daysmultipliedby7hours,wouldbe1,330contract
hours.Comparisondistrictstotalworkloadsrangefrom1,325to1,552contracthours,withanaverage
of1,443hours.Thisisaround8.5percentmorecontracthoursthanHawaii.
34

TablesIV10A10Cbelowrunthecomparisons,adjustingfortotalcontracthoursandhoursperday.
Whensalariesareadjustedbycontracthours,Hawaiisalariesbecomeevenmorecompetitiverelativeto
comparisondistricts.Hawaiissalaryishigherthanthecomparisondistrictaverageforall15comparison
pointsinmanycases,muchhigher.TablesIV10AandIV10Bshowthat,inClassesIIandIII,Hawaiihas
ahighersalarythanthevastmajorityofcomparisondistrictsotherthanforComparisonPoint9.
TableIV10A
ComparisonAdjustingforContractHours

1
2
3
4
5
Class
YearsofExperience
ClassII
3
ClassII
5
ClassII
9
3
5
Hawaii
ComparisonAverage
Minimum
Maximum
NumberBelow
Hawaii
NumberAbove
Hawaii
$44,538
$39,213
$30,156
$48,713
$45,874
$40,570
$30,156
$52,107
$47,250
$43,734
$33,364
$60,606
$48,100
$39,960
$30,156
$48,713
$49,544
$41,372
$30,156
$52,107
11
10
11
11
TableIV10B

6
7
8
9
10
Class
YearsofExperience
ClassIII(BA)
11
ClassIIIMA
3
ClassIIIMA
5
ClassIIIMA
11
ClassIV
13
Hawaii
ComparisonAverage
Minimum
Maximum
NumberBelow
Hawaii
NumberAbove
Hawaii
$52,561
$46,639
$36,493
$60,606
$48,100
$42,261
$33,181
$54,628
$49,544
$43,773
$33,316
$58,916
$52,561
$49,665
$40,220
$73,905
$54,663
$51,973
$40,220
$79,705
10
10
HawaiissalariesarestillabovethecomparisondistrictaveragesforComparisonPoints9through15(i.e.
higherpointsonthesalaryschedule),butmoredistrictsbegintohavehighersalariesthanHawaii.
35

TableIV10C

11
12
13
14
15
Class
YearsofExperience
ClassV
13
ClassVII
14
ClassVII
22
ClassVII
24
ClassVII
27
Hawaii
ComparisonAverage
Minimum
Maximum
NumberBelow
Hawaii
NumberAbove
Hawaii
$56,850
$53,609
$40,220
$83,098
$62,672
$54,980
$40,220
$87,742
$66,489
$63,194
$46,386
$98,755
$68,482
$65,854
$46,386
$100,977
$72,653
$67,677
$46,386
$100,977
TablesIV11A11Cshowsalarycomparisons,adjustingforpaiddays.Hawaiihasagreaternumberof
paiddaysthantheaveragecomparisondistrict.Thus,Hawaiissalariesbecomelesscompetitivewhen
adjustedforpaiddays,sincetotalsalaryhastobespreadoutovermoredays.Hawaiistillremainsabove
thecomparisonaverageformostearlycareercomparisonpoints.However,itisbelowthecomparison
averageforComparisonPoints9through15,exceptforComparisonPoint12.
TableIV11A
ComparisonAdjustingforPaidDays

1
2
3
4
5
Class
YearsofExperience
ClassII
3
ClassII
5
ClassII
9
3
5
Hawaii
ComparisonAverage
Minimum
Maximum
NumberBelow
Hawaii
NumberAbove
Hawaii
$44,538
$43,414
$33,153
$52,936
$45,874
$44,913
$35,353
$56,624
$47,250
$48,448
$36,670
$65,860
$48,100
$44,230
$33,153
$52,936
$49,544
$45,787
$35,353
$56,624
36

TableIV11B

6
7
8
9
10
Class
YearsofExperience
ClassIII(BA)
11
ClassIIIMA
3
ClassIIIMA
5
ClassIIIMA
11
ClassIV
13
Hawaii
ComparisonAverage
Minimum
Maximum
NumberBelow
Hawaii
NumberAbove
Hawaii
$52,561
$51,642
$40,186
$69,375
$48,100
$46,769
$36,469
$59,364
$49,544
$48,434
$39,058
$64,023
$52,561
$54,973
$44,205
$80,312
$54,663
$57,529
$44,205
$86,614
TableIV11C

11
12
13
14
15
Class
YearsofExperience
ClassV
13
ClassVII
14
ClassVII
22
ClassVII
24
ClassVII
27
Hawaii
ComparisonAverage
Minimum
Maximum
NumberBelow
Hawaii
NumberAbove
Hawaii
$56,850
$59,304
$44,205
$90,302
$62,672
$60,828
$44,205
$95,348
$66,489
$69,860
$51,388
$107,316
$68,482
$72,786
$51,388
$109,730
$72,653
$74,807
$53,666
$109,730
Inallcomparisons,withandwithoutadjustments,Hawaiihasashortercontractlengthandfewer
contractedworkhoursthancomparisondistricts.Thus,whenthecomparisonsareadjustedforthese
factors,Hawaiissalariestendtolookmorecompetitiveascompensationisspreadacrossfewerdaysor
hoursthanincomparisondistricts.Hawaiihasmorepaiddaysthanthecomparisondistrictaverage.
Comparisondistrictssalariesarespreadoverfewerdays,whichmakesHawaiilookmorecompetitive.
Generally,Hawaiissalariesforpeopleearlyintheircareersarehigherthanearlycareersalariesfor
comparisongroups.Laterinteacherscareers(i.e.athigherpointsinthesalaryschedules),thesalary
differencesbetweenHawaiiandcomparisondistrictsfollowlessofapattern:Hawaiiiseitherareabove
orbelowcomparisonsalaries,dependingontheadjustmentsmade.
37

Geographic Cost Differences
Inadditiontoadjustingforworkload,itisalsoimportanttoexaminegeographiccostdifferencesineach
comparisondistrict.APAisusingtwodifferentmetricstoexaminethecostsfacedlocally.ThefirstisLori
TaylorsComparableWageIndex(CWI)thatwasfirstdevelopedfortheNationalCenteronEducation
StatisticsandhassincebeenupdatedbyTaylorupto2013.13TheCWIisnotacostoflivingindex
measuringthedifferencesinpricesofpurchasingasetofgoodsindifferentlocales.It,instead,
measuresthelevelofwagesofsimilarprofessionsineachdistrictacrossthestate.Thebasicpremiseof
aCWIisthatalltypesofworkersdemandhigherwagesinareaswithahighercostofliving(e.g.,San
Diego)oralackofamenities(e.g.,Detroit,whichhasaparticularlyhighcrimerate)(FederalBureauof
Investigation2003).14ThemethodologyissimilartothatdescribedinAPAscomparablewageanalysis
discussedearlierinthereport.
Thesecondmeasureusedtoexaminegeographiccostdifferenceisamorefamiliarmeasureofcostof
living,thedifferencesinthecostsofgoodsandservicesindifferentlocales.APAselectedthe2010
CensusBureauCostofLivingSelectedUrbanAreas(COL)for2010toexaminethedifferencesinthe
costsofgoodsandservicesbetweenthecomparisondistricts.Thiscostoflivingindexmeasuresthe
costsofgroceryitems,housing,utilities,transportation,healthcare,andothergoodsandservices.APA
usedthecompositefiguresprovidedfortheindex.UnliketheCWIthatiscreatedforeachdistrict,the
COLisgeneratedfor325urbanareas.Mostcomparisondistrictshadacorrespondingurbanarealisted
intheCOL;forthosethatdidnot,APAselectedanurbanareaincloseproximitytotheschooldistrict.
TableIV12showstheCWIandCOLfiguresforHawaiiandeachcomparisondistrict.Thetwometricsare
showninthesameformat.Thehigherthenumber,thehigherthegeographiccost.Interestingly,the
CWIforHawaiiislowcomparedtocomparisondistricts.OnlytwoofthedistrictshaveCWIfigureslower
thanHawaii.Again,CWIdoesnotmeasurethecostoflivingdifferences,butthecostofhiringsimilarly
educatedprofessionalstaffineachdistrict.TheCOLfigureishigherinHawaiithaninanyofthe
comparisondistrictsmuchhigherinmanycases.TablesIV13A13CshowthecomparisonswhenCWI
istakenintoaccount,andTablesIV14A14CshowthecomparisonswhenCOLisfactoredin.
13
http://bush.tamu.edu/research/faculty/Taylor_CWI/
Taylor,LoriandFowlerJr.,WilliamAComparableWageApproachtoGeographicCostAdjustment,fortheU.S.
DepartmentofEducation.May2006
14
38

TableIV12
GeographicCostComparisonAdjustments
CWI
COL
Hawaii
1.453
1.657
Broward
Clark
Cumberland
Fairfax
Killeen
Houston
MiamiDade
MontgomeryCounty
PalmBeach
SanDiego
VirginiaBeach
WakeCounty
1.464
1.590
1.422
1.912
1.459
1.733
1.428
1.795
1.497
1.602
1.517
1.515
1.157
1.019
0.952
1.401
0.874
0.922
1.060
1.401
1.060
1.323
1.117
0.982
SinceHawaiihasalowergeographiccostwhenmeasuredusingtheCWI,itsaveragesalarieslookmore
competitiveoncetheCWIisappliedtoalldistrictsasshowninTableIV13A13C.Infact,Hawaiissalary
ishigherthanthecomparisondistrictaverageforall15ofthecomparisonpoints.Forthelowestlevels
ofeducationandexperience,Hawaiihasahighersalarythanalmostallotherdistricts.Forhigherlevels
ofeducationandexperience,Hawaiissalaryisstillhigherthantheaverage,butmanyofthecomparison
districtshavehighersalariesevenaftertheCWIadjustment.
TableIV13A
ComparisonAdjustingforCWI

1
2
3
4
5
Class
YearsofExperience
ClassII
3
ClassII
5
ClassII
9
3
5
Hawaii
ComparisonAverage
Minimum
Maximum
NumberBelow
Hawaii
NumberAbove
Hawaii
$44,538
$39,104
$33,712
$44,404
$45,874
$40,424
$33,749
$46,070
$47,250
$43,484
$37,287
$53,498
$48,100
$39,783
$33,712
$45,108
$49,544
$41,153
$33,749
$48,407
12
11
10
12
12
39

TableIV13B

6
7
8
9
10
Class
YearsofExperience
ClassIII(BA)
11
ClassIIIMA
3
ClassIIIMA
5
ClassIIIMA
11
ClassIV
13
Hawaii
ComparisonAverage
Minimum
Maximum
NumberBelow
Hawaii
NumberAbove
Hawaii
$52,561
$46,310
$40,841
$60,007
$48,100
$42,067
$37,083
$45,574
$49,544
$43,527
$37,286
$48,929
$52,561
$49,226
$43,152
$61,378
$54,663
$51,450
$44,309
$66,194
11
12
12
10
10
TableIV13C

11
12
13
14
15
Class
YearsofExperience
ClassV
13
ClassVII
14
ClassVII
22
ClassVII
24
ClassVII
27
Hawaii
ComparisonAverage
Minimum
Maximum
NumberBelow
Hawaii
NumberAbove
Hawaii
$56,850
$52,942
$44,309
$69,194
$62,672
$54,229
$44,701
$73,924
$66,489
$62,336
$50,380
$82,016
$68,482
$65,049
$51,823
$83,861
$72,653
$66,949
$51,945
$83,861
10
TablesIV14A14CbelowshowanentirelydifferentpictureafterCOLadjustmentsareapplied.Sinceall
comparisondistrictshavelowerCOLs,andmosthavemuchlowerCOLs,Hawaiisrelativesalaries
becomefarlesscompetitive.Hawaiissalariesarelowerforall15ofthecomparisonpoints,ranging
fromaround$17,000to$37,000lower.Nodistricthasalowersalaryinanyofthecomparisonpoints
afteradjustingforCOL.
40

TableIV14A
ComparisonAdjustingforCOL

1
2
3
4
5
Class
YearsofExperience
ClassII
3
ClassII
5
ClassII
9
3
5
Hawaii
ComparisonAverage
Minimum
Maximum
NumberBelow
Hawaii
NumberAbove
Hawaii
$44,538
$64,475
$57,456
$84,585
$45,874
$66,587
$59,156
$85,913
$47,250
$71,422
$62,585
$90,597
$48,100
$65,562
$57,456
$84,585
$49,544
$67,763
$59,397
$85,913
12
12
12
12
12
TableIV14B

6
7
8
9
10
Class
YearsofExperience
ClassIII(BA)
11
ClassIIIMA
3
ClassIIIMA
5
ClassIIIMA
11
ClassIV
13
Hawaii
ComparisonAverage
Minimum
Maximum
NumberBelow
Hawaii
NumberAbove
Hawaii
$52,561
$76,035
$63,015
$90,597
$48,100
$69,262
$61,545
$86,814
$49,544
$71,602
$61,760
$88,141
$52,561
$80,693
$68,242
$92,522
$54,663
$84,190
$70,533
$96,778
12
12
12
12
12
41

TableIV14C

11
12
13
14
15
Class
YearsofExperience
ClassV
13
ClassVII
14
ClassVII
22
ClassVII
24
ClassVII
27
Hawaii
ComparisonAverage
Minimum
Maximum
NumberBelow
Hawaii
NumberAbove
Hawaii
$56,850
$86,598
$70,533
$107,584
$62,672
$88,577
$70,533
$110,288
$66,489
$101,542
$82,564
$119,910
$68,482
$105,737
$87,711
$122,607
$72,653
$108,906
$92,062
$122,607
12
12
12
12
12
ThoughtheCWIandCOLadjustmentsprovidedramaticallydifferentresultswhenapplied,themeasures
arenotnecessarilyincongruouswithoneanother.TheCWIfiguressuggestitisnotcostlytoattract
teacherstoHawaii,aspeopleareprobablyeasilyattractedtotheislandlocaleandqualityoflife.Once
inHawaii,however,teachersexperienceaveryhighcostoflivingthatcanstretchwhatmightbelower
thanexpectedsalaries,consideringthehighcostofliving.
Combining Workload and Geographic Cost Differences
Overall,thecomparisonsshowthatwhensalariesareadjustedforworkloadinHawaiiasmeasuredby
thecontract,notincludingworkoutsideofcontracthoursthenHawaiisalariesaregenerallylower
thanthoseofcomparisondistricts.Geographiccostadjustmentsprovidetwodifferentperspectiveson
salariesinHawaii.Theysuggestthatitmaybesomewhatlesscostlytoattractsimilarlyeducated
personnelinHawaiithanmightbeexpectedgiventhelowersalarylevels.However,thecostsofliving
thatthosepersonnelfaceinHawaiiareextremelyhigh,andmaymakesalarieslesscompetitive.Tables
IV15A15Ccombineworkloadandgeographiccostdifferences.Thefiguresrepresentacomparison
adjustingfortotalcontracthoursandCOL.Thecomparisontriestotakeintoaccountthefactthat,while
theworkloadissomewhatlowerintheHawaiiteachercontract,thereisstillahighCOL.
42

TableIV15A
ComparisonAdjustingforContractHoursandCOL
1
2
3
4
5
Class
YearsofExperience
ClassII
3
ClassII
5
ClassII
9
3
5
Hawaii
ComparisonAverage
Minimum
Maximum
NumberBelow
Hawaii
NumberAbove
Hawaii
$44,538
$59,489
$50,901
$77,222
$45,874
$61,462
$50,901
$77,994
$47,250
$65,888
$56,625
$83,142
$48,100
$60,525
$50,901
$77,222
$49,544
$62,588
$50,901
$77,994
12
12
12
12
12
TableIV15B

6
7
8
9
10
Class
YearsofExperience
ClassIII(BA)
11
ClassIIIMA
3
ClassIIIMA
5
ClassIIIMA
11
ClassIV
13
$52,561
$70,204
$57,013
$85,304
0
12
$48,100
$63,954
$55,836
$78,989
0
12
$49,544
$66,150
$56,031
$79,761
0
12
$52,561
$74,548
$61,743
$88,360
0
12
$54,663
$77,791
$63,816
$94,297
0
12
Hawaii
ComparisonAverage
Minimum
Maximum
NumberBelowHawaii
NumberAboveHawaii
43

TableIV15C
Class
YearsofExperience
Hawaii
ComparisonAverage
Minimum
Maximum
NumberBelowHawaii
NumberAboveHawaii

11
12
13
14
15
ClassV
13
ClassVII
14
ClassVII
22
ClassVII
24
ClassVII
27
$56,850
$80,130
$63,816
$108,006
0
12
$62,672
$81,973
$63,816
$110,721
0
12
$66,489
$94,001
$74,700
$116,835
0
12
$68,482
$97,872
$79,574
$119,464
0
12
$72,653
$100,745
$83,521
$119,464
0
12
TablesIV15A15Cshowthatthelowerworkloaddoesnotfullycounterthemuchhighercostofliving.
Hawaiissalaryislowerthanthecomparisondistrictsonall15ofthecomparisonpoints,anditislower
thanall12ofthecomparisondistrictsoneachcomparisonpointwhencontracthoursandCOLaretaken
intoaccount.Thisdoesnotmeanthatsalariesneedtobeadjustedcompletelyfordifferencesincostof
living.ThecomparablewagestudyandtheCWIpointoutthatHawaiiisabletoattractprofessionals
acrossindustriesatlowersalariesthanmightbeexpected.Atthesametime,theHawaiisalariesare
lowerthaninallotherdistrictsinallcomparisonpoints.Tables15A15Cpointoutthatlowerworkload
doesnotnecessarilynegatetheeffectsofhighercostofliving.
Conclusion
Hawaiisteachercompensationsystemisbasedonatraditionalteachersalaryschedulethatrewards
educationandexperience.Hawaiisscheduletendstoplacemorevalueoneducationcreditsthan
comparisondistricts,whichtendtofocusonlyondegreeattainmentwithlittletonoadditional
compensationforcreditattainment.Comparisondistrictsalsogenerallyhavemoreexperiencesteps
thanHawaii.Someofthecomparisondistrictshavestepsverycloselyalignedtoyearsofexperience.
Mostdistrictskeptnewerstaffonlowstepsforthefirstseveralyears,butthenstepswereoften
awardedatapaceclosealignmentwithyearsserved.
Hawaiissalariesarecompetitivewiththoseofcomparisondistrictswhenexaminedwithoutany
adjustmentsforworkloadorgeographiccostdifferences.Hawaiigenerallyoffershighersalariesearlier
inateacherscareers,butbecomeslesscompetitive,withsomewhatlowersalaries,laterinteachers
careers.Whenworkloadisadjustedforcontractdaysandcontracthours,Hawaiibecomesmore
competitiveduetoitslowernumberofworkdaysandworkhours.Infact,whencontracthoursare
accountedfor(multiplyingworkdaysbyworkhours),Hawaiissalariesarehigherthancomparison
districtaveragesforall15comparisonpoints.Hawaiissalariesbecomelesscompetitivewhen
accountingforpaiddays,sinceHawaiihasmorepaiddaysthanthecomparisondistricts.
44

Adjustingforgeographiccostdifferencestellstwoverydifferentstories.AdjustingforCWI,ameasureof
comparablewages,HawaiissalariesaremorecompetitivesinceHawaiisCWIfiguresarelowerthan
thoseofcomparisondistricts.Ontheotherhand,Hawaiiscostoflivingisdramaticallyhigherthan
comparisondistricts.Afteradjustingforcostofliving,Hawaiissalariesarelowerthansalariesforall12
comparisondistrictsinall15comparisonpoints.Thetwofiguresshowthat,whileitmaybeeasierthan
expectedtoattractpersonneltoHawaii,onceteachersareinHawaiitheyfaceaveryhighcostofliving.
45
V. COMPARISON OF BENEFITS, STIPENDS, AND RETIREMENT

Thissectionofthereportexaminesthestipendsandbenefitsofferedincomparisondistricts,and
comparesthemtoHawaiisstipendsandbenefits.APAcollecteddataforthissectionbyexamining
documentsfromdistrictwebsitesandmakingphonecallstodistricts.Thissection,unlikethesection
aboveit,doesnotmakedirectcomparisonsbetweenHawaiiandalltwelvecomparisondistricts.Direct
comparisonsareavoidedherefortwomainreasons:First,theamountofdataAPAwasabletocollect
fromeachdistrictvaried.Somedistrictshaverobustinformationpostedonlineregardingbenefits,
stipends,andretirement.Otherdistrictshavelimiteddata,wereunableorunwillingtoprovidefull
details,evenwhencontactedviaphone.Second,themannerinwhichdistrictsimplementorprovide
benefits,stipends,andretirementvarieswidely,makingdirectcomparisonsdifficultinsomecases.
Benefits
APAexaminedthehealth,dental,vision,andlifeinsuranceprovidedbycomparisondistricts.APAalso
examinedthenumbersofsickandpersonaldaysprovidedtoteachingstaff.
Health Insurance
Thecomparisondistrictsprovidesupportforhealthinsuranceinoneoftwoways:directcoverageofall
orsomeportionofhealthinsurancecostsfortheemployee,oralumpsumcafeteriaplanwherethe
employeechooseshowtoallocatethefunds.Onlyoneofthecomparisondistrictsusesacafeteriaplan.
Thatonedistrictprovides$400permonthtoemployeeswhouseadistrictofferedhealthinsurance
program.Themoneyisusedtocoveranycoststheemployeeorhisordependentsmayincur.
Allotherdistrictsprovidedirectsupporttoemployeestocoverallorsomeportionofhealthcare.The
rangeofcoverageiswide.Coveragediffersintermsofwhosecostsarecovered(e.g.employeesonly
versusemployeesanddependents),andintermsoftheamountoffundingprovided.Withincomparison
districts,somepayonlyforemployeeswhileotherscontributetocoveringboththeemployeesand
dependents.Twoofthecomparisondistrictsonlyfundcoverageforemployees.Inthesedistricts,
dependentsareeligibleforcoverage,butthedistrictdoesnotpayanyofthecostforthesedependents.
Forthetwodistrictsthatonlypayforemployees,onedistrictcovers90percentofthecoststothe
employee,andtheotherdistrictcovers100percent.
Onedistrictprovidesafixedamountbasedonfactorslikeanemployeesmaritalstatus,numberof
dependents,orfamilymakeup.Theamountvariesfrom$500to$1000basedontheemployees
situation.Anotherdistrictsimilarlyprovidesfundingbasedonfamilystatus,butalsofundsdifferently
basedonwhichhealthplananemployeechooses.Foremployeeswhochooselowercostplans,the
districtalsoprovidesacertainamountofmoneyforahealthsavingsaccount.Themostrobustcoverage
is100percentcoverageforthecostofhealthinsurance,availableforemployeesandalleligible
dependents,regardlessofplan.Thedistrictthatprovidedthisfullcoveragewasoneoftwodistrictsthat
alsohadhealthinsuranceprovidedbyatrustoutsideoftheschooldistrict.
46

Beginningin201415andrunningthroughthe201617schoolyear,Hawaiishealthinsurancecostswill
becoveredat60percentoftheratesestablishedbytheHawaiiEmployerUnionHealthBenefitsTrust
Fund(TrustFund).Employeesreceivecontributionsbasedontheirnumbersofdependentsno
dependents,onedependent,ortwoormoredependents.Hawaiiissimilartomostcomparisondistricts
inthatitdifferentiateslevelsofcoveragebasedonanemployeesnumberofdependents.Itishardto
directlycomparehowHawaiis60percentcoveragecomparestocoverageinotherdistricts,since
comparisondistrictsonlypublishdollaramountscovered,notpercentoftotalcost.Thus,theonly
conclusionthatcanclearlybedrawnisthatHawaiiscoverageisbelowthatofthedistrictthatcovers
100percentofemployeeanddependenthealthcarecosts.
Dental and Vision
Allcomparisondistrictsseemtooffersomeformofdentalorvisioncoverage.Itappearsthatdistricts
willcoverallormostofemployeesdentalcoveragemorefrequentlythandistrictswillcovervision
insurance.Onlyafewdistrictsmentionedcoveringvisioninsurance.Hawaiiprovides60percent
coverageforbothdentalandvisioninsurance.
Sick Leave and Personal Days
Thecomparisondistrictshaverelativelysimilarsickleavepolicies.Oneimplementationdifferenceisthe
mannerinwhichdaysaccumulate.Mostofthecomparisondistrictsallowemployeestoaccumulateone
sickdaypermonth.Afewofthedistrictsprovidedteacherswithasmallpoolofsickdaysatthestartof
employment,aroundthreedays,andthenadditionalaccumulation.Onlyonedistrictprovided
noticeablyfewerdaysperyear,atjustfivedays.Mostdistrictpoliciesallowteacherstoearnbetween10
and15daysperyear.Alldistrictsexaminedallowteacherstoaccumulatedaysacrossyears,andthe
majorityofthemdonotcaptheaccumulationamount.
Personaldaysvariedmoreacrosscomparisondistricts.Manyofthedistrictspoliciesallowpersonal
leave,butpersonalleavedaysaretakenoutofateacherspoolofsickleavedays.Districtswiththis
policyhadbetweenfiveandeightsickleaveorpersonalleavedaysperyear.Afewdistrictshadtwoto
fivespecificallydesignatedpersonaldays.Thesedaysdidnotaccumulateacrossyears.
Hawaiiteachersget18sickdaysperyearandtakeuptosixpersonaldaysthataredeductedfromsick
days.
Supplemental Pay
Thecomparisondistrictshaveawiderangeofsupplementalpaystructures.Generally,theseincluded
schoolbasedsupplements,suchassupplementalpayfordepartmentheads;andactivitybased
supplements,suchasdramaorathleticcoachstipends.APAcollecteddocumentsfromthecomparison
districtslistingthesupplementalpayfordifferentrolesandpositions.ItisimportanttonotethatAPA
doesnothaveanyinformationontimecommitmentsorotherrequirementsforsupplementary
positions,soitisimpossibletoknowhowsimilarsupplementaryworkloadsareacrossdistricts.
47

Themajorityofdistrictsprovidedollaramountstipendsforallsupplementalpaythatwasexamined.
Onlyonedistrictprovidesstipendsasapercentageofsalary,linkingthepercentagetobasesalaryfor
thedistrict.Mostofthedistrictsdonotdifferentiatebyteachingexperience,insteadofferingstipendsat
afixeddollaramount.Twoofthecomparisondistrictsdodifferentiatebyexperience,providinghigher
stipendstomoreexperiencedteachers.
Thecomparisonsbelowarebrokenupintotwogroups:nonathleticcoachstipendsandathleticcoach
stipends.Forthecomparison,APAexaminedtherawdollarfiguresandthedollarsasapercentageof
basesalaryforthedistrict.Forthetwodistrictsthatdifferentiatedstipendsbasedonexperience,APA
pickedamidpointstipendforcomparisonpurposes.
Non-Athletic Coach Stipends
APAcomparedallnonathleticcoachstipendslistedinAppendixXIVexceptlibrarians.Thelistbelow
showseachstipendtypeanddollaramountforHawaiiteachers,accordingtoAppendixXIV:
Assistantathleticdirector$1,390
Directorofperforminghighschoolbandsororchestras$3,750
Directorofperformingintermediateormiddleschoolbandsororchestras$1,875
Departmentandgradelevelchairpersonoflargeschool$1,295
Departmentandgradelevelchairpersonofsmallschool$1,045
DramaCoaches$1,000
Directorofperformingchorusorchoralgroup$1,000
Vocationalagriculturalteacherwithlargefarms$1,250
Vocationalagriculturalteacherwithsmallfarms$1,000
ForeachstipendAPAwasabletofindatleastfivecomparablefiguresexceptforagriculturalteachers
andsmallschooldepartmentandgradelevelchairperson.Thetablesbelowshowthecomparison
informationfortheremainingstipends.TableV1showstherawdollaramounts,TableV2showsthe
amountsasapercentageofbasesalary.
TableV1
ComparisonofNonAthleticCoachStipends
Hawaii
ComparisonAverage
Minimum
Maximum
Assistant
Athletic
Director
$1,390
$3,095
$2,100
$7,040
Directorof
Bandor
Orchestras
$3,750
$4,124
$2,380
$8,180
Directorof
Department
Performing
ChairLarge
ArtsMiddle
School
School
$1,875
$2,048
$1,185
$4,090
$1,295
$1,759
$1,000
$2,596
Drama
Coach
$1,000
$2,446
$788
$4,718
Director
ofChorus
$1,000
$2,632
$989
$5,260
48
TableV1showsthatHawaiisnonathleticcoachstipendsarelowerthancomparisondistrictaverages
forallsixcomparisonstipends.Hawaiisstipendsforassistantathleticdirectors,dramacoaches,and
directorsofchorusareallmuchlowerthanthecomparisonaverages.Theotherthreeothercomparison
figuresarelower,butonlybyafewhundreddollars.Forassistantathleticdirectors,Hawaiisstipendis
lowerthantheminimuminanyofthecomparisondistricts.ItisimportanttonoteagainthatAPAdoes
nothaveinformationontheworkloadorrequirementsofeachpositioninthecomparisondistricts;the
tablessimplycomparethevaluespaidtoteacherswithoutanycomparisonofwhatteachersmustdoto
earnthestipend.
TableV2
ComparisonofNonAthleticCoachStipendsasaPercentageofDistrict'sBaseSalary
Assistant
Athletic
Director
Hawaii
ComparisonAverage
Minimum
Maximum
3.1%
7.1%
4.5%
15.1%
Directorof
Bandor
Orchestras
8.4%
9.8%
5.1%
17.5%
Directorof
Department
Performing
ChairLarge
ArtsMiddle
School
School
4.2%
4.7%
2.6%
8.7%
2.9%
4.3%
2.3%
6.4%
Drama
Coach
2.2%
5.6%
2.0%
10.2%
Director
ofChorus
2.2%
6.1%
2.4%
11.2%
TableV2convertseachstipendtoapercentageofeachdistrictsbasesalary.Thisprovidessome
contextonthelevelofadditionalpayeachdistrictoffersforeachstipend,comparedtothatdistricts
salarylevel.ThecomparativeresultsaresimilartothoseinTableV1,withHawaiisstipendslowerthan
stipendsincomparisondistricts.Again,Hawaiisstipendsforassistantathleticdirectors,dramacoaches,
anddirectorsofchorusarefarlowerthancomparisondistrictaverages,withtheotherstipendsmuch
closer.Hawaiisassistantathleticdirectoranddirectorofchorusstipendsarebelowtheminimum
stipendpercentageforthecomparisondistricts.
Athletic Coach Stipends
Aswiththenonathleticcoachstipends,APAdoesnothaveinformationontheworkloador
responsibilitiesassociatedwithcoachingjobsineachdistrict.Thecomparisonsaresimplydollarto
dollarcomparisonsofsimilarlytitledcoachingpositions.Allofthedistricts,includingHawaii,havemany
differentcoachingstipends;APApickedfivecoachingpositionsforthiscomparison.Theyareallhigh
schoolpositionsandincludeheadfootballcoach,assistantfootballcoach,headbasketballcoach,head
trackcoach,andheadvolleyballcoach.TableV3showstheHawaiistipendamountsandtheaverage,
minimum,andmaximumstipendamountsforthecomparisondistricts.
49
TableV3
ComparisonofAthleticCoachStipends
HSHead
Football
HS
Assistant
Football
HSHead
Basketball
$3,450
$4,850
$3,038
$7,040
$2,069
$3,820
$1,735
$6,600
$2,644
$4,302
$2,604
$9,245
Hawaii
ComparisonAverage
Minimum
Maximum
HSHead
Track
$2,874
$3,260
$1,400
$5,730
HSHead
Volleyball
$2,644
$3,453
$2,099
$6,200
Likeitsnonathleticcoachstipends,Hawaiisathleticcoachstipendsarebelowtheaveragesofthe
comparisondistricts.Allthestipends,otherthantheheadtrackcoachstipend,arefarbelow
comparisonaverages,thoughHawaiisstipendishigherthanatleastonecomparisondistrictinallcases.
TableV4showsthestipendsasapercentageofbasesalaryforeachdistrict.Again,Hawaiis
percentagesarebelowtheaverageinallcases,andfarbehindinmanyinstances.Theheadbasketball
coachstipendasapercentageofbasesalaryisbelowallcomparisondistrictfigures.
TableV4
ComparisonofAthleticCoachStipendsRelativetoBaseSalary
HSHead
Football
Hawaii
ComparisonAverage
Minimum
Maximum
7.7%
11.7%
7.6%
15.5%
HS
Assistant
Football
HSHead
Basketball
HSHead
Track
HSHead
Volleyball
4.6%
9.0%
4.3%
14.1%
5.9%
10.2%
6.5%
19.8%
6.5%
7.8%
3.2%
12.2%
5.9%
8.1%
5.7%
13.2%
Retirement
Hawaiisteachersarecurrentlyenrolledinoneoffourretirementplans.15TeachershiredbeforeJune
30,1984areintheContributoryPlan,whichrequiresa7.8percentcontribution.Teachershiredafter
June30,1984butbeforeJune30,2006areintheNonContributoryPlan,whichhasnocontribution
requirement.TeachershiredafterJune30,2006butbeforeJuly1,2012areintheHybridPlan,which
requiresa6percentcontribution.Finally,employeeshiredonorafterJuly1,2012areinamodified
HybridPlan,whichrequiresan8percentcontribution.Theretirementagerulesandcalculationof
15
www.hawaiipublicschools.org
50

benefitsdifferforeachplan.Becauseofthisvariationinplans,APAdoesnotcomparedatafrom
comparisondistrictstoHawaiiinthetablesbelow.
LikeHawaii,teacherretirementplansincomparisondistrictsarestatebasedprograms,andarenot
specifictoindividualdistricts.APAusedacombinationofstateretirementwebsites,districtwebsites,
andotherwebsitestofinddataforall12districts.APAcollectedinformationonemployeecontribution,
requirementstoreachfullretirement,typesofsalaryusedtocomputebenefits,andmethodsof
calculatingfinalbenefits.Thedataisallforasinglepointintime,anditisclearthatchangesare
occurringtosome,ifnotmany,oftheretirementsystems.Forexample,Texasdistrictsshowa
contributionrateof6.4percent,whichwillincreaseoverthecomingyearstoahighof7.7percentin
2017.The6.4percentrateisusedforcomparisonpurposes.TableV5showstheaverage,minimum,
andmaximumcontributionratesforcomparisondistricts.
TableV5
ComparisonDistrictTeacherContributionRates
Average
5.9%
Minimum
3.0%
Maximum
11.9%
Teachercontributionsrangegreatlybutareconcentratedaroundtheaverageofabout6percent.The
averagecontributionrateisbelowthecurrentnewhirerateforHawaiiandtheratefortheContributory
Plan.ItisnearlythesameastherateforHybridPlan.
Rulesforwhenteachersqualifyforretirementbenefitsvarybydistrict,withmostplansemploying
multiplerules.Onetypeofruledesignatesarequiredminimumnumberofyearsofservice.The
requirementrangedfrom30to33yearsofserviceforcomparisondistricts.Somedistrictscombinedthe
serviceyearsrulewithaminimumagerequirement.Forexample,adistrictmightsetthe30yearservice
requirementbutmandatethatanemployeemustalsohavereachedtheageof55beforeretiring.A
variationofthisruleforolderemployeesallowsthemtoretireatahigherminimumage,butwithfar
lessservicecredit.Forexample,anumberofthecomparisondistrictshadtheusedthe65/5Rule,
whichallowsemployeeswhoare65oroldertoretireafteraminimumoffiveyearsofservice.Another
approachistheruleofatotalnumberofyears.Thisapproachaddstheemployeesagetohisorher
servicecreditstodetermineatotalnumberofyears.Thistotalisthencomparedtoadistrict
determinedminimumrequirementofyearsforretirement.Comparisondistrictsusingtheruleoftotal
numberofyearshadbothan80yearanda90yearrequirementforqualification.Hawaiisvariousplans
havedifferentrulesforqualifyingforretirement.Theplansusevariationsoftherulesdescribedabove,
includingaminimumserviceamountof25yearsfortheContributoryPlan,or30yearsofservicecredits
plusaminimumageof60forthemodifiedHybridPlan.
Tocalculatethefinalbenefitsanemployeereceives,retirementplansuseacalculationthatgenerally
incorporatesyearsofservice,retirementsalarylevel,andanappliedfactor.Themajorityofcomparison
51

districtsuseanaveragesalaryfigureastheretirementlevelsalary.Thefactorappliedalsodifferedfor
eachdistrict.Tocomparethedifferencesinretirementbenefitcalculations,APAcalculatedanexpected
monthlyretirementbenefitforahypotheticalretiree.Thiscalculationassumestheretireereachedfull
retirement,hadasalaryof$65,000inthefinalyear,andanaveragefinalsalaryof$62,000overthelast
yearsofteaching.Theteacherhastaughtfor30years.TableV6showstheaverage,minimum,and
maximumamountsforthecomparisondistrictsbasedonthishypothetical.Itisimportanttonotethat
thisanalysisdoesnottakeintoaccountfinalsalarylevels,whichmayinfluencethefactorsusedin
calculation.Highersalarydistricts,likeMontgomeryCountyandVirginiaBeach,mightbeabletoprovide
lowerfactorssincecalculationswouldbebasedonhigherfinalsalaries.Thiswouldallowingrecipientsto
havehighermonthlybenefitsevenatlowerfactors.
TableV6
ComparisonDistrictsHypothetical
MonthlyBenefitAmounts
Average
$3,046
Minimum
$2,325
Maximum
$3,875
Usingthesamehypothetical,Hawaiismonthlybenefitswouldrangefrom$1,938to$3,100.The
ContributoryPlanandHybridPlanprovidethehighestbenefits,slightlyabovethecomparisonaverage.
TheNonContributoryPlanprovidesthelowestbenefits,wellbelowthecomparisonaverage,andthe
ModifiedPlanwouldprovide$2,713,alsobelowtheaverage.
Conclusion
Hawaiiprovidesarobustpackageofinsurancecoveragetoitsteachers,covering60percentofthecosts
ofhealth,dental,andvisioninsurance.Allofthecomparisondistrictsprovideaccesstosimilarcoverage,
butsomedonotmakecontributionstohelppayforthecostsofdentalorvisioninsurance.Comparison
districtsvaryoncoverageofhealthinsurancecostsfordependents.Somedistrictsonlycontributeto
insurancecostsforemployees,whileotherscoverdependentsaswell.Comparisondistrictsalsovaryin
howmuchtheywillcoverofhealthinsurancecosts.Comparisondistrictsonlyprovidingfundingfor
employeestendtopickupthewholecost,ormostofthecost,ofinsurance.Districtscoveringthecosts
ofdependentstendtoprovidejustapercentageofthecost,thoughonedistrictdoescoverthefullcost
oftheemployeeandanydependents.
Hawaiiprovidessickdaysatasimilarorslightlyhigherratethancomparisondistricts.Likemanyofthe
comparisondistricts,Hawaiiallowsteacherstousepersonaldays,whicharedeductedfromavailable
sickdays.Hawaiispersonaldaysallotmentishigherthanincomparisondistricts.Generally,the
comparisondistrictsallowunusedsickdaystobecarriedoverwithoutlimit.
Comparisondistricts,onaverage,payhigherstipendsforbothnonathleticcoachstipendsandathletic
stipends.Thisistruewhenlookingattherawvalueofstipendsorlookingatthestipendsasa
52

percentageofbasesalary.Formanyofthestipendsusedforcomparison,Hawaiipaysfarbelowthe
averageamountofthecomparisondistricts.
Comparingretirementbenefitsismoredifficult,sinceHawaiiscurrentteachershaveanumberof
differentretirementplansdependingonthedatewhentheystartedteaching.Overall,teachersin
Hawaiiwhoareprovidingacontributiontotheirretirementplanspayahighercontributionratethan
thecomparisondistrictaverage.Theamountofbenefitsateacherreceivesinretirementishighly
dependentonthatteacherslevelofeducation,experience,andageatretirement.Examininga
hypotheticalretiringteacher,twoofHawaiisplansseemtobecompetitivewiththecomparison
districtswhiletwoothersdonotseemtobeascompetitive.
53
VI. RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

TheworkabovelookedatvariousaspectsofHawaiiscompensationsystem.Thisfinalchapterexamines
whattheseaspectsmightmeanfortherecruitmentandretentionofteachers.Thischapteralso
providesrecommendationsonadjustmentsthatmightbemadetoHawaiiscompensationsystem.
Recruitment
AsmentionedinChapterTwo,Hawaiisflowofteachersissimilartothatofmanyschooldistricts.Most
ofHawaiisnewteachersareyounger,withlowerlevelsofeducation.Thecomparablewagestudyin
ChapterThreeshowsthatHawaiiisabletoattractprofessionaltalentatratesbelowwhatmightbe
expectedduetoitshighcostofliving.ThesalarycomparisonsinChapterFourshowthatunadjusted
salaries,aswellassalariesadjustedforworkloadorCWI,areverycompetitiveattheearlylevelsof
teaching.Thismighthelpattractnewteacherstothesystem.Newemployeesreceivearobustbenefit
package,butmaynotcareasmuchaboutcoverageofdependentsastheycareaboutcoverageof
employeesalone.Ifnewteachersworkinhardtostaffschools,theydohaveahardtostaffstipend
availabletothem.Thisstipendisshowntohelpwithteacherretention.
Retention
Hawaiisflowofteachersoutofthesystemiscomparabletomanyschooldistricts.FigureII2showsthe
Ushapeddistributionofteachersleavingofthesystem.Hawaiiteacherstendtoeitherleaveafewyears
intoteachingorstaylateintotheircareers;infact,manyteachersseemtoretirelaterintheircareersin
HawaiithaninotherdistrictsAPAexamined.ChapterFourshowedthatsalariesbecomesomewhatless
competitiveasexperienceandeducationincrease.TeachercontractsinHawaiihavefewercontractdays
andtotalhoursthanmostofthecomparisondistricts,butmorepaiddays.
Basedontheanalysis,youngerteachersremaininthefirstthreestepsofthesalaryscheduleforalarge
portionoftheircareers.Teacherslaterintheircareersseemtoprogressfasterthroughthesteps,as
showninChapterTwo,butthisprogressionisstillnotaclearyeartoyearadjustmentbasedon
experience.
Hawaiiteachersreceivelowerstipendsforadditionalserviceinbothnonathleticcoachandathletic
coachpositionsthanincomparisondistricts.Theyreceivearobustbenefitspackageincludinghealth,
dental,andvisionbenefits,buttheypayahigheramounttoretirementthancomparisondistricts.
Teachersalsohavetheabilitytogainadditionalpaybymovingacrossclassesonthesalaryschedule.
Unlikeinmanydistricts,progressioncanoftenbebasedsolelyoncreditattainmentandnotondegree
attainment.
TheregressioninChapterTwoshowsthehardtostaffcomponentofthecompensationsystemmay
alreadybecontributingtoteacherretention.However,factorsassociatedwithworkingconditions(e.g.
higherproportionsoffreeandreducedlunchstudents)areonlyweaklyassociatedwithattrition.
54
Recommendations
APAoffersthefollowinglistofrecommendationsbasedontheanalysisinChaptersTwothroughFive.
Theserecommendationsarebasedontheassumptionthatthegeneralstructureofthesystemwillstay
thesame.Thoughotheradjustmentsmightbemadetothesystem,theactionslistedbelowareAPAs
recommendationsbasedontheworkdoneinthisstudy.
Lowerthenumberofclassesinthesalaryschedule.Currently,thesystemispayingforcredit
attainmentaloneinClassesIV,V,andVI.Manyofthecomparisondistrictsonlypayfordegree
attainment.Hawaiineedstoexaminethevalueofcreditsversusdegreeattainmentonthe
effectivenessofteachers,andthendetermineifpayingforadditionalcreditsisvaluabletothe
system.
Raisethenumberofstepsinthesalaryschedule.Mostofthecomparisondistrictsrequired
newteacherstostayononestepearlyintheircareers,ordidnotchangesalaryforthefirstfew
stepsofthesalaryschedule.Aftertheseearlyyearsofslowornogrowththroughsteps,
comparisondistrictteacherstendtoearnstepsinconjunctionwithincreasesinyearsofservice.
Hawaiissystemhasrelativelyfewsteps,andyoungteachersspendlongperiodsoftimeinthe
earlysteps.LookingatTableII4,teachersmaytakeupto15yearstogetthroughthefirstfour
steps,butthentheycanmovethrougheightstepsintheirnext15to20yearsofteaching.
Recognizingteacherexperiencemoredirectly,andearlierintheircareers,mayhelpretain
teachers.
Raisestipendlevelsfornonathleticcoachandathleticcoachstipends.Comparisondistricts
hadhigheraveragestipendsacrosstheboard.APAdoesnotknowifthecurrentstipendsare
impedingschoolsabilitiestofilltheseroles,butitisclearthatthecompensationdoesnotalign
withstipendcompensationinotherdistricts.
Examineexpandingtheuseoftargetedstipends.Thehardtostaffstipendisprovingtobe
effectiveinretainingemployees.Hawaiishouldexaminetheuseofadditionaltargetedstipends
inneedareas.Onepossibilitytoexamineistheuseofstipendstoretainyoungerteachers
aroundthetimetheywouldleaveteachingorleaveHawaii.Thiscouldbeimportantifstepsfor
newerteachersarenotexpanded.
APAisnotmakingaspecificrecommendationonadjustingsalarylevels.Itisclearfromthecomparable
wagestudyandCWIsalarycomparisonthatHawaiiisadesirableplacetowork.Rawsalaries,workload
adjustedsalaries,andCWIadjustedsalariesallshowHawaiissalariesarecompetitiveinrelationto
comparisondistricts.Atthesametime,Hawaiiteachersfaceaveryhighcostofliving.Itisunclear
whethercostoflivingdifferencesshould/couldbefullytakenintoaccount.Withthisinmind,itis
importantforHawaiitoensurethatteachersreceiveattractivebenefits.Suchbenefitscouldincludethe
currentshorterworkyearandworkhours,arobustbenefitspackage,andagoodretirementsystem.
55
Appendix A: Regression Results, Correlation with Leaving

ThisappendixprovidesamorecompleterepresentationoftheregressionanalysisdiscussedinsectionII.
Ithas2tables.TableA1arethecompleteresultsoftheregression.
TableA1
RegressionResultsPredictingWhetheraTeacherWillLeave
Numberofobs
49440
LRchi2(18)
4108.18
Prob>chi2
0
PseudoR2
0.1866
Loglikelihood
8953.13
Predictors
Indicateshas3orfeweryears
ofservicecredit
Yearis2010
Yearis2011
Yearis2012
Ageis62orhigher
Worksinthecharterdistrict
Percentofstudentswho
qualifiedforfreeandreduced
lunch
Percentofstudentsenrolled
forentireschoolyear
Receiveda$1,500Hardto
staffbonus
Constant
OddsRatio
Std.Err.
0.99
0.00
5.33
9.97
0.06
39.38
8.45
2.78
2.62
2.30
2.70
1.08
0.96
1.00
0.85
1.07
1.05
0.80
0.65
0.06
0.07
0.07
0.08
0.15
0.09
0.09
0.09
0.13
0.08
0.09
0.31
0.21
37.41
14.36
12.92
10.85
6.48
0.89
0.43
0.05
1.3
0.85
0.55
0.7
2.06
0
0
0
0
0
0.372
0.665
0.957
0.193
0.394
0.581
0.481
0.039
1.00
0.00
1.67
0.095
1.00
0.00
0.46
0.646
0.32
0.15
7.71
0.02
0.41
10.03
APAuseddifferentmodelformulationswithvariouscombinationsoftheschooldescriptors:Percent
proficientinreading,Percentproficientinmath,Percentofstudentswhoqualifiedforfreeandreduced
lunch,Percentofstudentsenrolledforentireschoolyear(ameasureoftransience).Percentproficient
56

inmathandreadingwasconsistentlynegativelyassociated(i.e.lessthan1)withattrition.Theother
descriptorsaroundtransiencewereconsistentlynotsignificant.Freeandreducedlunchwassignificant
inafewformulations,butusuallynotintheexpecteddirection,i.e.itwaspositivelyassociatedwith
attrition.
ThereferenceforthelocationdataisacombinationofOfficesthathadsmallnumbersofteachers:
DistrictBOE
DistrictOfficeofSuperintendent
DistrictOSFSS
DistrictOHR
DistrictOCISS
DistrictOITS
DistrictOFS
TableA2providessummaryinformationonthedatausedfortheregression.Thisdatacanbeusedto
interprettheresults.
TableA2
SummaryInformationonVariablesUsedintheRegression
Std.
Variable
Obs
Mean
Dev.
Quit
55,135 0.073
0.26
51,572 15.787
9.57
Indicateshas3orfeweryearsofservicecredit
55,135 0.085
0.28
Yearis2010
55,135 0.083
0.28
Yearis2011
55,135 0.253
0.43
Yearis2012
55,135 0.251
0.43
Ageis62orhigher
55,135 0.251
0.43
Worksinthecharterdistrict
55,135 0.019
0.14
55,135 0.183
0.39
55,135 0.137
0.34
55,135 0.176
0.38
55,135 0.052
0.22
55,135 0.215
0.41
55,135 0.116
0.32
53,397 0.685
0.12
53,397 0.515
0.16
PercentofStudentswhoqualifiedforfreeand
52,847 47.243
19.58
reducedlunch
Percentofstudentsenrolledforentireschoolyear
52,844 91.043
5.50
ReceivedoneHMbonus
55,135 0.040
0.20
Min
Max
0
1
0
53
0
1
0
1
0
1
0
1
0
1
0
1
0
1
0
1
0
1
0
1
0
1
0
1
0 0.951965
0 0.986842
2.1
100
43.9
0
99.3
1
57
Appendix B
AppendixB
TableofComparisonGroups
Comparison
Group
Othercollege
educated
workers
Professionaland
Technical
Workers
EPIIdentified
Comparison
Occupations
Expanded
Comparison
Occupations
IncludedOccupations
Datasourceandoccupationalcoding.
AllindividualswithaBAareincluded,
regardlessofoccupation.Sampleis
restrictedtofulltime(35+hoursper
ACS5yearsample2012
week),fullyear(27+weeksperyear)
workersages2265,notinschool,notself
employed.
ManagementOccupations;Businessand
FinancialOperations;Computerand
MathematicalOccupations;Archicture
BLSOccupationalEmployment
andEngineering;LifePhysicalandSocial
Statistics(OES),May2013.
Science;CommunityandSocialService;
Legal;Education,TrainingandLibrary;
IncludesOCCCodes110000through
Arts,Design,Entertainment,Sports,and
299999.
Media;HealthcarePractioncersand
TechnicalOccupations.
Accountantsandauditors,Registered
nurses,Occupationaltherapists,Physical
therapists
Statistics(OES),May2013.OCCcodes
Tradeandindustrialteachers,
132011,2053,1071,1075,1041
Vocationalandeducationalcounselors,
151131
Underwriters,
171011,1012
Personneltrainingandlaborrelations
191031
specialists,Inspectorsandcompliance
211012,2011
officers,exceptconstruction,Architects,
254011,4012
Forestryandconservationscientists,
273042,3043,3041
Archivistsandcurators,Clergy,Technical
291111,1128
writers,Editorsandreporters,Computer
programmers
BusinessandFinancialOperations;
ComputerandMathematicalOccupations;
Statistics(OES),May2013.
ArchictureandEngineering;LifePhysical
andSocialScience;CommunityandSocial
IncludesallOCCcodeslistedabove
Service;Education,TrainingandLibrary
and
Occupations.Alsoincudeseditors,
Occupationalcategories21,13,15,17,
reporters,andtechicalwriters,registered
19,and25(notincludingK12
nursesandhealththerapists.
teachers)
58

Hawaii Teacher Salary Study

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Hawaii Teacher Salary Study

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Study of Hawaiis Compensation

Mr. Wilbert Holck

Ms. Kathryn Matayoshi

Study of Hawaiis Compensation System

Study of Hawaiis Compensation System

Study of Hawaiis Compensation System

Study of Hawaiis Compensation System

Study of Hawaiis Compensation System

II. CURRENT DISTRIBUTION AND FLOW

Study of Hawaiis Compensation System

Study of Hawaiis Compensation System

Study of Hawaiis Compensation System

Study of Hawaiis Compensation System

Teachers Coming into the System

Study of Hawaiis Compensation System

Teachers Leaving the System

Study of Hawaiis Compensation System

Study of Hawaiis Compensation System

Statistical Analysis of Factors Associated with Attrition

Study of Hawaiis Compensation System

Study of Hawaiis Compensation System

Study of Hawaiis Compensation System

Study of Hawaiis Compensation System

III. COMPARABLE WAGE ANALYSIS

Study of Hawaiis Compensation System

Sources of Information about Comparison Occupations

Study of Hawaiis Compensation System

Study of Hawaiis Compensation System

Adjusting for the Characteristics of Workers and Occupations

Study of Hawaiis Compensation System

Salary Comparisons: OES Data on Occupations in Hawaii and Other States

Study of Hawaiis Compensation System

Study of Hawaiis Compensation System

Study of Hawaiis Compensation System

Study of Hawaiis Compensation System

Study of Hawaiis Compensation System

Salary Comparisons: ACS Data on Individuals in Hawaii and Other States

Study of Hawaiis Compensation System

Study of Hawaiis Compensation System

Study of Hawaiis Compensation System

IV. SALARY STRUCTURE AND LEVEL COMPARISONS

Selecting Comparison Districts

Study of Hawaiis Compensation System

Structure of District Salary Systems

Study of Hawaiis Compensation System

Study of Hawaiis Compensation System

Minimum Maximum Minimum Maximum

Study of Hawaiis Compensation System

Study of Hawaiis Compensation System

Study of Hawaiis Compensation System

Study of Hawaiis Compensation System

Adjusting for Work Load and Geographic Cost Differences

Study of Hawaiis Compensation System

Study of Hawaiis Compensation System

Study of Hawaiis Compensation System

Comparison Comparison Comparison Comparison Comparison

Comparison Comparison Comparison Comparison Comparison

Study of Hawaiis Compensation System

Comparison Comparison Comparison Comparison Comparison

Comparison Comparison Comparison Comparison Comparison

Study of Hawaiis Compensation System

Comparison Comparison Comparison Comparison Comparison

Comparison Comparison Comparison Comparison Comparison