A group of roughly 50 public school teachers rallied at the state Capitol this afternoon urging legislators to pass the “Penny for Education Act.”

The act proposes raising the GET from 4 percent to 5 percent, with the revenue going toward public education. Organizer Corey Rosenlee estimated the tax increase would generate as much as $500 million.

The grassroots group, Hawaii Teachers Work to the Rules, consists of teachers from 106 schools across the state, according to Rosenlee.

Here are the group’s reasons for the proposal, taken from its press release:

1. Teachers in Hawaii are the lowest paid in the nation based on comfort level and cost of living. With the average elementary teacher making an adjusted cost of living salary of $27,048.

2. That due to the teacher shortage Hawaii hires teachers without teaching certification and pays them $30, 610, which for a family of three qualifies for food stamps.

3. That many teachers in Hawaii have to teach in hot rooms (exceeding 88 degrees) and the legislature has cut all money for air conditioning.

4. That currently Hawaii school’s average age is 65 years old, and is the worst in the nation when it comes to per pupil spending for capital improvements. Which recently caused Farrington’s High Auditorium to collapse putting our students lives at risk.

5. That when the state cuts supply budgets for teachers this causes teachers to have to pay money out of their own pockets, creating a hidden tax of teaching.

6. Finally, because of the conditions stated above Hawaii has the highest rate in the nation of teachers leaving the profession, with up to 56% leaving every five years and up to 1600 teachers leaving each year.