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Bidding Aloha to Hawaii 

Hawaii During this year's legislative session, the Hawaii State Teachers Association (HSTA) aired media spots highlighting an alarming crisis: More than 1,600 public school teachers will quit this year for other, higher paying professions or for employment on the mainland. A new HSTA survey finds that the state could lose up to 50 percent of its teachers within five years.

The troubles in paradise: the scope of teaching duties, crushing expectations, and—above all—low pay. Among other things, HSTA is proposing a "45-60-100" plan with a $45,000 salary for entry level teachers, a $60,000 average, and a $100,000 salary for the longest-serving and highest-qualified educators.

Hoosiers at Fiscal Crossroads

Indiana The Hoosier State's fiscal situation is at a "crisis level," reports the Indiana State Teachers Association (ISTA). Economic shocks, ranging from the 2001 recession to a slowdown of the state's large manufacturing sector, have left Indiana with a structural deficit of some $800 million. After a series of short-term fixes—state funding cuts, delays, and "redirections"—Indiana stands at a "fiscal crossroads," says ISTA.

Newly elected Governor Mitch Daniels is taking his best shot, proposing, among other things, a temporary income tax surcharge on the top 1 percent of earners and a two-year budget freeze for K–12 education.

ISTA applauds Daniels for initiating public discussion on a progressive tax increase, but urges him to implement the idea on a broader scale and fund public education through a "permanent and progressive" general tax increase. This will require a hard look at the corporate tax structure, both in terms of rates and accountability for tax incentives handed to companies.

The Con of the Con Con

New Jersey The state's sky-high property taxes, which help fund public education, need "meaningful reform" now, New Jersey Education Association (NJEA) leaders recently told a legislative committee. But that's the job of the elected legislature, not a proposed Constitutional Convention. This so-called "Con Con," NJEA warned, would cost $4 million to run, "take two years to accomplish something," and be likely to "blindly cut property taxes without a plan for maintaining services."

NJEA is proposing its own tax  reform legislation in partnership with other organizations opposed to the con of the Con Con—including the NAACP.

Flexibility to Weaken Rights

Department of Defense In a grab for "management flexibility," the Pentagon has released its proposal for a new National Security Personnel System (NSPS), which it aims to implement by July. For Federal Education Association (FEA) members in Defense Department schools, NSPS could mean weakened bargaining and due process rights.

FEA and other federal unions are pursuing strategies to make NSPS fairer for workers. "The scope of issues we will bargain may be changed and we may be required to pursue litigation in different forms," says FEA President Sheridan Pearce, "but at the end of the process FEA will still be there for its members." For updates, go to www.feaonline.org.

Broken Promises: Exhibit A

Minnesota A judge has ordered the West St. Paul-Mendota Heights-Eagan school district to pay damages to the West St. Paul Federation of Teachers that may exceed $300,000—what the district saved by suddenly and (illegally) increasing teacher out-of-pocket costs in one of its two negotiated health insurance plans. The judge also ordered the district to reinstate the old plan.

Broken Promises: Exhibit B

Delaware The Delaware Supreme Court has spoken: Retired school nurse Karen Wood, who lives with multiple sclerosis (MS), is entitled to lifetime disability benefits from the Appoquinimink school district. Back in 1998 the district stopped disability payments to Wood and another disabled employee, even though it had bargained this life-saving insurance benefit in its contract with the Appoquinimink Education Association.

Wood, who kept detailed records throughout her battle—which began when she was diagnosed with MS in 1994—was assisted by the Delaware State Education Association. Wood's advice to all educators: Join the Association, know your contract, and use it.

Everyday Low Pay—Always

Washington First the good news: The Washington Education Association (WEA) is marking the 10th anniversary of the WEA Children's Fund, which provides $50,000 a year to pay for the needs of hard-pressed students, everything from warm coats to basic school supplies. The not-so-good news: Many of the receipts members submit to the fund for reimbursement are from—sigh—Wal-Mart.

In a gentle reminder to these generous souls, WEA President Charles Hasse notes that Wal-Mart's "exploitative labor practices have added to public assistance burdens in our state and across the nation." Warm 'n fuzzy commercials aside, Hasse says, "The fact remains that a great many of our students and their families suffer as a result of Wal-Mart's poverty-level wages and benefits."