HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.C.R. NO. |
30 |
THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2022 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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HOUSE CONCURRENT
RESOLUTION
urging the department of education to follow workforce housing models, such as koa‘e makana and the hokuao 201h housing project, for all teachers seeking affordable units in the state.
WHEREAS, it is critical to lessen the financial burden many teachers are experiencing in the State; and
WHEREAS, according to a report by the Department of Education, in the 2017-2018 school year, 51.8 percent of teachers who resigned cited "leaving Hawaii" as their primary reason for resigning, while fourteen percent resigned for a non-teaching- or non-education-related job; and
WHEREAS, for the 2018-2019 school year, there were one thousand twenty-nine teacher vacancies throughout the State, up from one thousand eleven during the 2017-2018 school year and nine hundred twenty during the 2016-2017 school year; and
WHEREAS, one way to improve the quality of education in Hawaii is to fill all public school classrooms with full-time teachers, rather than long-term substitutes; and
WHEREAS, recruiting and retaining qualified teachers is essential to the future of education in Hawaii; and
WHEREAS, providing financial incentives, such as affordable housing for teachers, is a means for the Department of Education and public charter schools to recruit and retain qualified teachers; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2022, the Senate concurring, that the Department of Education is urged to follow workforce housing models, such as Koa‘e Makana and the Hokuao 201H Housing Project, for all teachers seeking affordable units in the State; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Education is requested to consider forming community partnerships to ensure housing security for full-time teachers by:
(1) Supplying homes to meet the current and growing demand by teachers;
(2) Strengthening the relationships between "place and people" by displaying solidarity for the role a teacher plays in the lives of the community the teacher serves;
(3) Acknowledging the major teacher shortage that has impacted the State and, where appropriate, protecting teachers through the current and future pandemics;
(4) Engaging in collaborative efforts that provide a pathway to homeownership for teachers; and
(5) Supporting Hawaii's teachers, families, and communities that contribute to Hawaii's economy; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Education is requested to collaborate with the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation and Hawaii Community Development Authority to address the deficit of affordable housing for teachers; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the Board of Education, Superintendent of Education, Executive Director of the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation, and Executive Director of the Hawaii Community Development Authority.
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OFFERED BY: |
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Affordable Housing; Teachers; Department of Education