STAND. COM. REP. NO. 819

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    S.B. No. 1249

       S.D. 2

 

 

 

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fifth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2009

State of Hawaii

 

Madam:

 

     Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 1249, S.D. 1, entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO TEACHERS,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose of this measure is to provide incentives to attract, train, and retain public school teachers.

 

     More specifically, the purpose of this measure is to:

 

     (1)  Establish a teacher housing allowance program to provide housing allowances to public school teachers;

 

     (2)  Establish a home ownership for educators program that offers deferred-interest second mortgages to qualified educators to be used to purchase residential dwelling units;

 

     (3)  Establish the home ownership for educators second mortgage revolving trust fund;

 

     (4)  Appropriate funds for the teacher housing allowance program;

 

     (5)  Appropriate funds for the home ownership for educators second mortgage programs;

 

     (6)  Appropriate funds for the management of the teacher housing program, including the renovation, repair, and maintenance of existing units;

 

     (7)  Establish a peer review program for new teachers;

 

     (8)  Provide incentive for experienced teachers to relocate to Hawaii; and

 

     (9)  Require the Department of Education to submit reports to the Legislature on various issues in this measure relating to recruiting, training, and retaining teachers.

 

     Your Committee finds that retaining qualified teachers in the public schools is critical to achieving the State's educational goals.  Although their efforts have improved of late, the Department of Education has consistently struggled to hire the requisite number of teachers at the commencement of every school year.  The incentives provided in this measure will assist the Department to not only recruit, but retain qualified teachers to provide a quality education for all students in the public school system.

 

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

 

     (1)  Changing the effective date to July 1, 2070, to encourage further discussion of this matter; and

 

     (2)  Making technical nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and style.

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1249, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1249, S.D. 2.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

 

		____________________________ DONNA MERCADO KIM, Chair