HONOLULU (KHON2) -- Nearly 400 public and charter school teachers are starting the school year without pay.
"At first, what's happening? Like, this can't have happened. I'm sure there was some kind of mistake," said Barb Vanderkamp.
Vanderkamp, a second-grade teacher, reacted when she didn't receive her paycheck on Tuesday. She feels luckier than some of the 17 other teachers at Ka'ohao Public Charter School because she's financially stable—for now.
"I still worry. You know, everything’s on auto pay now, yeah, it just goes out. And to get something from our car loan, people say, 'Hey, we didn’t get your payment,'" Vanderkamp said.
Vanderkamp is among about 377 teachers statewide who did not get paid on August 20.
The Department of Education (DOE) said in a statement that there were "processing challenges within the Office of Talent Management, specifically related to the necessary notification of personnel action (Form 5) and its subsequent transmission to payroll."
The DOE said teachers should receive back pay in their next paycheck on September 5. Additionally, supplemental checks of $2,000 will be issued on Tuesday, but teachers will be required to repay this amount.
The union is also urging the DOE to address the problem.
"Many of them are worried about missing mortgage and rent payments, racking up overdraft fees, and just having some cash to get by. They should concentrate on teaching their students, not scrambling to deal with missing pay," said Andrea Eshelman, HSTA deputy executive director. "We hope the department will do its best to ensure this never happens again."
The DOE acknowledged the hardship this situation has created, but teachers today feel unappreciated.
"We often feel undervalued as public and charter school teachers, and it felt a little like one of those, you know, like, 'Sorry, you’re not important enough for us to make it a priority,'" Vanderkamp said.
Ka'ohao School Director Keoki Fraser credited the DOE for being responsive and has also offered financial help to teachers if needed.
"It really has dampened what otherwise has been a great school year. We're off to a wonderful start building team and community, so this is a setback. But what’s great about teachers, what’s great about schools, is their resilience. We’re going to make sense of this," Fraser said.
The union has requested and is waiting for a full list of all affected teachers and schools.