State, teacher's union set to resume contract negotiations

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Representatives from the state Department of Education and the Hawaii State Teacher's Association will resume negotiations on Friday, nearly a month after the teacher's union rejected the state's latest proposal.

Back in December, the teacher's union turned down a settlement offer that would have included the restoration of a 5 percent wage reduction, as well as 2 percent raises for each year of the contract until 2015 and $2,500 dollar bonuses for new teachers who complete a probationary period.

An HSTA representative says the state's offer required teachers to take a "blind leap of faith," since the proposal involved a new teacher evaluation system that had yet to be developed.

Union leaders say they had to wait until now to resume talks with the state because members of the negotiating team were out of town during the winter break.

The teacher's union says it will have a counter-proposal