Hawaii schools cannot attract and retain qualified teachers due to cost of living and low wages

Hawaii's public school system faces a critical teacher shortage where educators cannot afford to live in the state despite employment, forcing schools to operate with unfilled positions and reduced educational quality. School administrators and district leaders struggle to recruit talent because teacher salaries lag significantly behind the cost of housing, food, and basic expenses, while existing solutions like modest pay increases fail to address the fundamental affordability crisis. This directly impacts student learning outcomes and forces schools to hire underqualified substitutes or consolidate classes.