Incoming Hawaii Teachers Union Chief Offers Changes In Style Not Substance - Honolulu Civil Beat
Incoming Hawaii Teachers Union Chief Offers Changes In Style Not Substance
HSTA Vice President Osa Tui Jr., registrar at McKinley High, will take the helm of the union in July. Reading time: 10 minutes.
The Hawaii State Teachers Association has grown increasingly powerful under the leadership of Corey Rosenlee, playing a key role in keeping classrooms closed for months, pushing out the current superintendent and even getting teachers a $2,200 bonus.
Critics say the union has gone too far beyond its focus of advocating for teachers and students and wielding outsize influence over statewide policy, elections and other issues.
mtanji@mauinews.com
State Department of Education Superintendent Christina Kishimoto visits Pomaikai Elementary School in 2017. Maui educators said her tenure began with âhigh hopesâ but ended in frustration during the pandemic. Kishimoto plans to step down July 30. The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo
Christina Kishimoto’s tenure as school superintendent began with “high hopes” among Maui teachers and ended in months of stress and uncertainty over school reopening plans during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Grace should always be extended in unprecedented situations, but in a crisis, she could not provide the strong leadership we desperately needed,” Maui High School mathematics teacher Jodi Kunimitsu said Wednesday. “Over the course of the past year, far too many decisions were made on a whim without collaboration or communication.”