From Honolulu Civil Beat
Excerpt:
I wholeheartedly support changing allowing investment properties to be taxed to increase public school funding. As I reflect on my public school education, I’m saddened that the professionals who craft our children’s future are treated so poorly. Hawaii’s teacher salaries are the lowest in the nation when adjusted for cost of living, numerous studies show, leaving the islands with a chronic teacher shortage that undermines student achievement. According to recent reports, teachers are fleeing our shores at an 84 percent higher rate than in 2010.
We must give our teachers the respect they deserve and the professional pay they’ve earned. If passed by voters, the proposed constitutional amendment’s enabling language would not impact renters or the vast majority of working families. Rather, as the Hawaii State Teachers Association and lawmakers have stated, the tax would be levied on second homes valued at $1 million or greater, which are often owned by nonresident real estate speculators and used as Airbnb-style vacation rentals. Their owners use Hawaii as a private Monopoly board and decrease the housing supply for local residents.
It’s time to ensure that wealthy investors pay their fair share to deliver the schools our keiki deserve.
Jeanné Kapela is a current Young Progressives Demanding Action board member (2017-2018)