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I've read that they're in the 45-50k range for teachers with their masters, which is low considering Hawaii's cost of living, but I think I could make do. Any vibes I'm getting are soley because of my positive attitude lol. I'm fully certified in NY so getting my provisional Hawaii cert is just a matter of paperwork. I am well-qualified but only have one years teaching experience, so there are a lot of factors like whether the hiring committee will think I'm a good fit, whether they prioritize young teachers, nepotism, etc. etc. I was hired with no job experience for my current position and I have an excellent relationship with my administration (so I'll be receiving letters of rec, positive references & such). There are just so many factors it's hard to make any kind of prediction. There is going to be Hawaii recruitment in NY in April so I am hoping that process will give me more concrete info on the teaching front.
Search for negotiated agreements online. Hawaii is a union state. Pay sucked when I was there but it has gotten better. Crap. Here it is. Page 85 I believe is the page you want to see. http://www.nctq.org/docs/Hawaii_final_CBA_2013-2017.pdf
Search for negotiated agreements online. Hawaii is a union state. Pay sucked when I was there but it has gotten better. Crap. Here it is. Page 85 I believe is the page you want to see. http://www.nctq.org/docs/Hawaii_final_CBA_2013-2017.pdf
Thanks for showing me this! It's definitely useful to know what pay scales I should be expecting. Are these consistent across all of the islands? I know in NY, teacher salaries are determined by property tax & therefore nicer neighborhoods pay more. Is this true in Hawaii as well?
Thanks for showing me this! It's definitely useful to know what pay scales I should be expecting. Are these consistent across all of the islands? I know in NY, teacher salaries are determined by property tax & therefore nicer neighborhoods pay more. Is this true in Hawaii as well?
Teachers coming in from another state don't correspond exactly to the schedule posted in the contract that was linked in this thread. There are only a few slots incoming teachers can fit into. Here is the brochure for new teacher salaries for this school year. The previous (many) years, there were only three rows, now there are 4, which is nice. When I started teaching in Kona, the pay was worse. Then it got a little better, then the furloughs came and it got worse again I never did get to experience the better again because I moved out of the classroom into an even worse paying job in the district. Charts with pay rate comparisons across the country who factor in cost of living show Hawai'i to be the lowest of the low... by far.
As for nicer neighborhoods versus not as nice neighborhoods-- no difference. The state is ONE district with ONE pay scale. They used to allow applying teachers to choose specific regional areas, but now you are limited to choosing an island. Depending on where you end up and where you'd prefer to live, the commute could be vicious. Traffic and terrain can make commuting to the next town over more time-consuming than it looks on the map. Special Ed is desirable, for sure. The other tricky thing would be both of you finding a teaching job in the same town. I'm not sure why you were thinking Maui, but your first post makes me think Hawai'i island might be the best fit (lots of more rural areas to choose from, lots of outdoor, laid back living, less tourism than Maui, imo, etc.). There are nicer beaches on the Kona side, and I don't think you'd find the Kona area to be that "citified." You could live south or north or near Waimea and still have pretty easy access to sandy beaches. That being said, I love the Hilo and Waimea- wet side- weather. And the humidity is nothing like you find in the East or Midwest.
IMO either upcountry Maui or Kauai sounds like it would be more suitable for you. The Big Island lacks the beaches that are more abundant in Maui and Kauai, which are also more "lush" than the Big Island. The only advantage IMO of the Big Island is property cost less. However no matter where you live in HI, it is expensive. When we owned a condo there (Maui) and used to spend several months a year in the islands, we had friends who were teachers. Several had to work two jobs in order to get by.
If it were me, I'd find out where the job would be before finding housing. If you can rent somewhere close enough to school that at least one of you'd be able to walk to work, then you'd only need one car. Saves ever so much bother. Schools are usually placed close to population centers so it shouldn't be too bad. Once you find out which school, ask someone there if they know of any good rentals in the area. The best rentals go by word of mouth, otherwise, check Craig's List, but - of course - don't send money or sign anything until you've seen it in person. Which means, you're in a vacation rental for a couple of weeks while you're finding a rental. Folks don't put them up for rent until they're ready to be rented, though, so it's not like you find the perfect rental that won't be available. Generally, if they're listed, they're available.
Hawaii rarely has the ungawdly hot and humid days, because of the ocean's thermal mass around the islands, the temperature stays pretty consistent. Over ninety is rare, but it did happen this summer and it was dreadful. Folks were getting air conditioners left and right and they ran out of them at the stores. If you find a rental at a higher elevation (anything over 1,200 feet) with good ventilation to the tradewinds, then heat shouldn't be a problem. Also, when bringing mainland clothes, leave the synthetic fabrics behind. Polyester is miserable in Hawaii. Cotton, silk, linen, etc., are comfortable. Tight clothes aren't worn as much because of the humidity, too. Nylons and high heels? Leave them on the mainland. Teachers don't dress up that much for school. Men wearing aloha shirts and slacks are top end for teacher wear and women wearing a nice loose dress is good, too. At least, on the Big Island, maybe Honolulu and Maui take themselves more seriously and think bling matters.
As for nicer neighborhoods versus not as nice neighborhoods-- no difference. The state is ONE district with ONE pay scale....I'm not sure why you were thinking Maui, but your first post makes me think Hawai'i island might be the best fit (lots of more rural areas to choose from, lots of outdoor, laid back living, less tourism than Maui, imo, etc.). There are nicer beaches on the Kona side, and I don't think you'd find the Kona area to be that "citified." You could live south or north or near Waimea and still have pretty easy access to sandy beaches. That being said, I love the Hilo and Waimea- wet side- weather. And the humidity is nothing like you find in the East or Midwest.
Hm. As for the cost of living, I assume it's mainly the rent/morgage that is affected? I plan to eat mainly farmer market food/local & hopefully rent a studio so I'm just wondering whether the area has a huge impact. Since it's a base salary all around, would my money stretch farther in different areas, or is the cost of living comparable in various areas? Of course, excluding places like Honolulu where I know the cost of living is much higher. I mean more like Waimea, Honokaa, Hilo, places on the Kohala coast & Paia etc. I'm sure with the hiring situation for my job I won't have this luxury of choosing but I like to be well-informed. My concern with the Big Island is being isolated-- though north Big Island seems to look great (I am particularly drawn to Waimea for some reason) & I want to be around educated young professionals & make friends. I guess I'll have to experience the humidity for myself & see if it's for me, but I know that in hot NY summers when it's very humid, I am miserable.
IMO either upcountry Maui or Kauai sounds like it would be more suitable for you. The Big Island lacks the beaches that are more abundant in Maui and Kauai, which are also more "lush" than the Big Island. The only advantage IMO of the Big Island is property cost less. However no matter where you live in HI, it is expensive. When we owned a condo there (Maui) and used to spend several months a year in the islands, we had friends who were teachers. Several had to work two jobs in order to get by.
Upcountry Maui seems beautiful & wonderful in terms of altitude/landscape, but I'm worried it's a bit isolated. I want to be around educated young professionals & I'm not sure that it fits the bill in that respect. Same goes for Kauai. After researching around, it seems like Waimea is a good mix of higher altitude/not isolated, but I'm open to any other suggestions. I also like Paia but it seems like living there might be prohibitively expensive.
If it were me, I'd find out where the job would be before finding housing. If you can rent somewhere close enough to school that at least one of you'd be able to walk to work, then you'd only need one car...Hawaii rarely has the ungawdly hot and humid days, because of the ocean's thermal mass around the islands, the temperature stays pretty consistent...Teachers don't dress up that much for school. Men wearing aloha shirts and slacks are top end for teacher wear and women wearing a nice loose dress is good, too. At least, on the Big Island, maybe Honolulu and Maui take themselves more seriously and think bling matters.
Yeah, I'm sure that all of my research is going to go out the window if/when I get an offer for a place I haven't researched & I'm urged to take the plunge. I am just a planner so I like to be well-informed. If we could have one car between us, it'd be great & I'd actually prefer that. I'm glad to hear that teachers don't dress formally. I dress (relatively?) laid back for my current teaching job-- lots of dresses/skirts with black tights & flats. I assume I could continue my style in Hawaii-- without the tights of course.
Hawaii teachers in rural areas dress very casually. You can wear flip flops instead of flats if you like. Some schools are probably a bit more dressy than others, but all of them will be much less dressy than their mainland counterparts.
Rent is probably the biggest difference in cost of living between one area and another on any particular island. Once you get used to the area and figure out where to get things, the basic costs of day to day living will drop.
We do have tons of folks moving onto and off the island and there's no true 'winter' here, so you can find most basic household items at really great prices at yard sales and on Craig's List pretty much year round. Teachers are also well respected and upstanding citizens, so folks will most likely be helpful when you mention you're a new teacher moving to the island.
Hawaii teachers in rural areas dress very casually. You can wear flip flops instead of flats if you like. Some schools are probably a bit more dressy than others, but all of them will be much less dressy than their mainland counterparts.
Rent is probably the biggest difference in cost of living between one area and another on any particular island. Once you get used to the area and figure out where to get things, the basic costs of day to day living will drop.
We do have tons of folks moving onto and off the island and there's no true 'winter' here, so you can find most basic household items at really great prices at yard sales and on Craig's List pretty much year round. Teachers are also well respected and upstanding citizens, so folks will most likely be helpful when you mention you're a new teacher moving to the island.
I'm glad to hear that household items are available-- I'm trying to figure out what to pack & what to leave behind. I am leaning towards selling our cars & buying on-island but I'm still a bit nervous about that prospect since I'm not very car savvy. It's great that teachers are respected-- I wonder what the difference is between how teachers are viewed in Hawaii vs. how teachers are viewed on the mainland. With all of the turnover with teachers in Hawaii, I'd think part of it is the lack of respect teachers get in general. Of course it really depends on the administration & parents in the area, so it can vary a lot. Hoping to be in a school where families value education, but the hiring process makes a lot of the job search out of my hands.
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lol. I'm fully certified in NY so getting my provisional Hawaii cert is just a matter of paperwork. I am well-qualified but only have one years teaching experience, so there are a lot of factors like whether the hiring committee will think I'm a good fit, whether they prioritize young teachers, nepotism, etc. etc. I was hired with no job experience for my current position and I have an excellent relationship with my administration (so I'll be receiving letters of rec, positive references & such). There are just so many factors it's hard to make any kind of prediction. There is going to be Hawaii recruitment in NY in April so I am hoping that process will give me more concrete info on the teaching front.
When I started teaching in Kona, the pay was worse. Then it got a little better, then the furloughs came and it got worse again 
