Hawai'i's public school teachers are putting in an average of 15.5 hours of work per day, much of it on tasks demanded by federal mandates, according to a first-of-its-kind study.

More than half of that time is unpaid, according to the study by a joint committee made up of teacher union and state Department of Education members.

The Time Committee, as it has been called, spent almost two years investigating the effect of increased demands by the DOE and the federal No Child Left Behind Act on the time teachers spend doing their job, including hours before and after school and into the evening.

"Our plates are really overflowing, and there's been a clear impact on student achievement," said committee member Karen Shindo, representing the Hawai'i State Teachers Association. "Teachers have been pleading with us, 'Give us the time to teach the kids.' "

The extra duties — mostly administrative — also are leaving teachers less time to respond to the non-academic needs of their students at a time when students have more needs than ever, members of the committee said.

"We've taken over a lot of responsibilities that were once done by the family and the churches," Shindo said.

In presenting its findings to a Board of Education committee yesterday, the Time Committee said if teachers were paid for all their extra hours, they'd be earning an extra $63,000 a year, based on the average salary paid the state's public school teachers.

For many, that would far exceed what they're actually paid. Starting pay for a teacher right out of college is around $40,000 annually.

The issue of teacher time has plagued the teachers union and the DOE for years, with teachers frustrated by the growing number of demands on their jobs, and the department limited by its annual budget in providing extra pay.

Committee member Randall Miura, principal of Leihoku Elementary, said many of his teachers typically arrive at school at 6:30 a.m. and don't leave until 5:30 or 6 p.m. Teachers often have to take their work home.

"When I first started teaching, after school was the best part of the day to interact with students," he said. "But teachers aren't available to the students (after school now) because they're always rushing off to a meeting."

In attempting to define the scope of all of what is expected of teachers today, the committee conducted surveys, listened to teachers at HSTA executive board meetings, held hearings at teacher institutes and met with small groups, according to the committee's report.

Committee members appearing before the board complained that the department has not fully participated in the committee's deliberations and has not had consistent representation at the meetings.

State superintendent Pat Hamamoto said she did not realize that was occurring and she would investigate.

The study on teacher time was mandated during contract negotiations two years ago in hopes of quantifying the extra time spent by teachers as well as coming up with recommendations on how to handle the issue.

Yesterday, board members were eager to hear proposed solutions, but the committee has not yet made any recommendations.

The committee expects to have a follow-up report by June, Shindo said.

Board member Denise Matsumoto said she expects the ongoing contract negotiations to respond to some of the issues.

"If some items are negotiable, we'll try to do that," she said.

But board member Eileen Clarke indicated solutions could be elusive.

"We don't have the magic wand that can give you the time or everything you deserve," she said.

Reach Beverly Creamer at bcreamer@honoluluadvertiser.com.