Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Education and Military Affairs and Labor, to which was referred H.B. No. 1606, H.D. 1, entitled:

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to establish annual salary increases for teachers who meet certain requirements and create a comprehensive teacher evaluation process.

Testimony in support of the measure was submitted by the Department of Education and Hawaii State Teachers Association. Testimony in opposition was submitted by the Department of Budget and Finance and an individual.

Your Committees find that teachers who are able to achieve a high level of performance should be compensated for their extra efforts and talent. The first step in achieving this would be to establish a comprehensive evaluation process to assess teachers' abilities and performance. This measure provides such a process and further provides the mechanisms to increase a teacher's salary based on positive evaluations.

Your Committees agree that restoring Hawaii teachers' salaries to a level competitive with other states and occupations is important in teacher retention. Further amendments were made to the measure by:

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Education and Military Affairs and Labor that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1606, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1606, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.