STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2798

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    H.B. No. 2306

       H.D. 2

       S.D. 1

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fifth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2010

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Education and Housing, to which was referred H.B. No. 2306, H.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO SALARIES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to adjust the salary caps of the Superintendent of Education and the State Librarian.

     Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by one state agency, and testimony in support of the intent of this measure was submitted by one state agency.  Testimony in opposition to this measure was submitted by the Governor's office.  Written testimony presented to the Committee may be reviewed on the Legislature's website.

     Your Committee finds that this measure would provide the Board of Education with greater flexibility in attracting strong candidates and determining salaries for the Superintendent of Education and State Librarian positions.

     However, your Committee has concerns with merely increasing the salary cap of each position and has amended this measure as follows:

     (1)  By removing amendments that changed the salary caps for the Superintendent of Education and the State Librarian;

     (2)  By authorizing the Board of Education to grant annual performance-based bonuses up to an amount equivalent to fifty percent of the Superintendent of Education's annual salary and twenty-five percent of the State Librarian's annual salary, which would provide the Board of Education with increased flexibility to recruit candidates and increased accountability for each position;

     (3)  By requiring the annual performance-based bonus for the Superintendent of Education to be based on evaluation criteria to be determined by the Board of Education that include but are not limited to outcomes in the principal, teacher, student, test score, and community relations categories;

     (4)  By requiring the annual performance-based bonus for the State Librarian to be based on an annual evaluation of outcomes to be established through contract negotiations between the Board of Education and the State Librarian; and

     (5)  By making technical, nonsubstantive changes for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Education and Housing that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2306, H.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2306, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Education and Housing,

____________________________

NORMAN SAKAMOTO, Chair