The Hawaii State Teachers Association has issued the following press release:
The Hawaii State Teachers Association is excited to announce our support for Sylvia Luke’s campaign for lieutenant governor. The HSTA revealed the recommendation at a news conference Saturday afternoon at Abraham Lincoln Elementary School in Makiki, where Luke went to school.
Sylvia Luke is an effective advocate for educators, public schools
Luke has been a strong supporter of public education and educators. Whether it was protecting teachers’ earned salaries against the threat of furloughs, increasing preschool education opportunities, or expediting classroom and school construction, she has a record of standing with teachers.
“Sylvia has always supported public schools just as they supported her,” said HSTA President Osa Tui Jr. “Her priorities include looking to take care of our youngest keiki, making sure school facility funds actually get used and don’t go to waste, and ensuring the wellbeing of our teachers, especially with the need for affordable teacher housing. Sylvia is a go-getter who puts her mind to things and gets them done.
“Whether it’s calling out other elected leaders or holding state department heads' feet to the fire, she is constantly trying to make government more streamlined, responsive, and accountable to the needs of the people of Hawaii,” Tui said.
“As a product of public school education, I am humbled by the support of the HSTA,” said Luke, who attended Kaahumanu Elementary, Lincoln Elementary, Kawananakoa Middle and graduated from Roosevelt High School. “When educators feel valued and are supported with resources to be successful, their students benefit from it.
“I want to thank the HSTA for believing in my ability to create positive change for our public schools,” Luke said.
This legislative session, Sylvia has introduced several bills that build on her prior support of education by ensuring teachers are paid for their years of service, fighting for much-needed teacher housing, creating a stipend program to encourage university students to teach in public schools, and giving more support to the agency that plans and constructs educational facilities.
One of the four key pillars of Sylvia’s campaign for lieutenant governor is educational equity, which reads, “Hawai’iʻs unique statewide educational system was intended to make sure that all of our keiki, regardless of background or affluence, have equal access to K–12 education. Creating true educational equity requires a much broader systemic approach, including universal access to preschool, teacher retention initiatives, and college scholarship support.”
Learn more about HSTA’s recommendation at www.hsta.org.
About the Hawaii State Teachers Association recommendation process
The Hawaii State Teachers Association is the exclusive representative of 13,500 public school teachers statewide. HSTA represents and supports teachers in collective bargaining, legislative and professional development issues
HSTA recommends candidates who are strong supporters of public education, our educators, labor, and are committed to creating a better future for our keiki.
HSTA sent out questionnaires to candidates in January and HSTA’s Government Relations Committee (GRC) interviewed them in February. The committee is made up of volunteer member leaders from each of HSTA’s 12 chapters across the state of Hawaii. Based on those responses and the interviews, the GRC recommended Sylvia to the HSTA Board of Directors, which made a final decision to support her in the lieutenant governor’s race.