With the COVID-19 economic downturn leading to unprecedented challenges to the state’s economy, government workers remain unsure of whether they will face a 20 percent cut in pay.

Gov. David Ige said last month that due to the decline in state revenues, public sector workers including teachers, could need to take a reduction in salary, the Honolulu Star Advertiser reported.

How the state will manage to make up for the deficit has not been determined.

“The department is not in a position to speculate how the governor and legislature should address the state's budget shortfall,” Lindsay Chambers, communications director with the Hawaii State Department of Education (DOE), told the Hawaii Business Daily by email.

The Hawaiʻi DOE in January presented its fiscal year 2021 budget to several committees of the state legislature. On May 21, the legislature passed a budget bill that reduces the department's general fund base budget for both FY 2020 and 2021.

“The legislature met for a brief time to pass the budget bill and plans to reconvene again in mid-June,” Chambers said. “As such, further legislative adjustments may be made to the department’s budget based on the latest revenue forecast by the Council on Revenues, and any additional federal COVID-19 impact relief funds approved by Congress.”

The DOE is continuing to work closely with the Ige administration and lawmakers to convey its budget priorities, Chambers said.

“We know that the economic effects of COVID-19 will reverberate for many years in classrooms and schools across our nation,” Chambers said. “Our discussions continue to emphasize the importance of public education as a stabilizing force in the face of crises. The public school system plays a critical role in being a consistent source of academic delivery, student services and transition support for students, parents and communities. We will continue to advocate for the resources needed to deliver on our mission and responsibilities.”

The department is pressing to prevent reductions in the number of school days and workers’ salaries.

“Superintendent Dr. Christina Kishimoto has repeatedly expressed her commitment to protect 180 instructional days [the traditional school year length] for the upcoming school year, and to avoid employee pay cuts to the greatest extent possible,” Chambers said.

In a letter to Ige on April 21, Jon Gasper, president of the Hawaii Government Employee's Association (HGEA), wrote, “We are asking you to be a good employer, fund your workforce, fund the countless services that the public needs and demands.”