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A former teachers union executive predicted last summer that Hawaii’s Race to the Top would be the when contract negotiations went awry.

Turns out, Joan Husted was right.

Last month, the U.S. Department of Education chastised Hawaii for its failure to make “adequate progress” on its federal Race to the Top goals.

The state has been placed on “high-risk” status and will undergo heightened federal scrutiny. It may even lose what’s left of its $75 million award if it doesn’t start delivering on its promises.

The severe words from the feds were contained in addressed to Gov. Neil Abercrombie, whose administration will be held accountable for meeting the four-year goals — even though it was former Gov. Linda Lingle who oversaw the successful federal grant application in 2010.

But for all the talk about the recent upbraiding, no one has answered yet who dropped the ball, when, and why. It turns out that most of the key initiatives to fall behind should have been addressed in the contract that Abercrombie unilaterally implemented when bargaining reached an impasse last summer. The Hawaii State Teachers Association has challenged the governor’s decision, a protest now being heard by the Hawaii Labor Relations Board.

The board meets today, and at its last meeting didn’t hear any testimony as it appeared both sides were scurrying to find a resolution to the dispute in response to the threat from the federal department of education.

While the governor holds ultimate responsibility for Hawaii’s performance on its , two others signed their names to the state’s successful grant application:

• Superintendent Kathryn Matayoshi, who was first hired in 2009 as a deputy superintendent specifically to oversee and assist in the state’s Race to the Top bid; and
• Then-Board of Education Chairman Garrett Toguchi

In their application, those officials touted a “letter of support and agreement” from the HSTA, stating that the union’s support would pave the way for four key reform initiatives: teacher induction and training, evaluations, performance-based pay and equitable distribution of qualified teachers throughout the state.

< HIDOE has a written agreement with its teachers’ union, the Hawaii State Teachers Association, to work in partnership to:

a) Measure individual student learning gains through multiple measures of achievement, and implement annual performance- based evaluation for teachers and principals with 50% of that evaluation based on student achievement;

b) Provide incentives to encourage teacher effectiveness and achieve a more equitable distribution of effective and exemplary teachers in schools throughout the State. HIDOE and the unions are committed to negotiating removal of barriers to recruiting, hiring, and placing effective in-state and out-of-state principal and teacher candidates in high-need areas;

c) Expand quality induction, mentoring, and coaching programs for both teachers and principals, and expand alternative pathways to teacher and principal certification through the creation of “grow-your-own” alternative delivery models and other pathways (particularly in high-need areas) and through the removal of barriers to teacher certification for effective in- state and out-of-state teacher candidates;

d) Develop a comprehensive, data-driven needs-based professional development system that includes induction, mentoring, coaching, school, and Complex-based data teams, and needs-based interventions that will be used to improve the effectiveness of our teachers and principals.

But Hawaii has not made enough headway on many Race to the Top initiatives, including those four, according to the letter from the U.S. Department of Education.

The delays stem partially from the state’s inability to negotiate a new contract with the HSTA. But state officials also didn’t include the reforms in the contract imposed by the governor.

After declaring an impasse in bargaining, on July 1 Abercrombie and Matayoshi unilaterally imposed a “last, best and final offer” on 12,500 public school teachers, which included a 5 percent pay cut and increase in teachers’ health costs.

The unilateral contract made no mention of teacher evaluations or performance-based pay — two key Race to the Top initiatives scheduled to be in the contract, at least in pilot form, for school years 2011-2012 and 2012-2013.

It also cut in half the $3,000 stipend given to teachers who took jobs at “hard-to-staff” schools — hardly making good on Hawaii’s Race to the Top commitment to recruit and place qualified teachers equitably throughout the state.

“It is our understanding that without a revised contract, the State cannot fully implement many initiatives in its approved Race to the Top plans,” states the from the U.S. Department of Education.

In November, Matayoshi testified before the Hawaii Labor Relations Board that talk about Race to the Top reforms stopped before contract negotiations fell apart.

Matayoshi said that when she realized they wouldn’t be able to hash out all the Race to the Top questions before the June 30, 2011 contract deadline, she planned to negotiate a supplemental agreement later. But talks have because of the legal battle that ensued after the state imposed its “last, best and final” offer on teachers in July.

“I am still hopeful we’ll move forward on Race to the Top discussions with HSTA at some point,” Matayoshi told the union’s attorney at a Nov. 16 hearing.

While Abercrombie has indicated that legislative action may be necessary, gubernatorial spokeswoman Donalyn Dela Cruz said that nothing is changing yet as a result of the federal concerns. The governor is seeking more guidance from the U.S. Department of Education before he determines a course of action, she explained.

“We’re looking for more specifics, because we don’t want to get this wrong,” Dela Cruz said, adding that Abercrombie remains committed to reforming education in Hawaii.

“The governor has purposely put these people into place to make sure that we’re transforming education,” she said. “One positive result of this is that now people are starting to talk about Race to the Top, and that’s really good.”