The leader of Hawaii’s teachers union said Monday he should have given members more time to consider a six-year proposed contract they overwhelmingly rejected last week, and has been "humbled" by the vote.

"We’ve got to move from here," Hawaii State Teachers Association President Wil Okabe told the Star-Advertiser. "This is my responsibility. We need to get a clear understanding" of what teachers want.

Okabe said he will spend the next several weeks holding meetings and providing other opportunities for teachers to weigh in before deciding how to proceed with negotiations.

In a letter to teachers Monday on HSTA’s Facebook page, Okabe also urged members to fill out a survey detailing which aspects of the deal concerned them.

"Last week, you rejected the contract I recommended," Okabe wrote. "In hindsight I can see that I was too anxious to finalize what I thought was a good settlement. I didn’t give you the time to offer your ideas and ask your questions. I am humbled. This wasn’t the teachers’ fault. It was mine."

The conciliatory message came on the same day that Gov. Neil Abercrombie again called on teachers to come back with a new contract proposal aimed at ending the months-long labor dispute.

In his State of the State address, the governor reiterated his pledge to move forward with key Race to the Top education reforms, even without a new contract in place. The Obama administration has warned Hawaii that its $75 million Race to the Top grant could be lost if more progress isn’t made.

"We cannot wait any longer," Abercrombie said in his address, pledging to use "all management, administrative, legislative and legal tools at our disposal" to implement an improved teacher evaluation system.

"We wanted to cross the Race to the Top finish line side by side with the HSTA. Make no mistake we will cross that finish line."

State officials said Monday it is still unclear how the teachers’ contract rejection will affect Hawaii’s ability to convince federal officials it can make good on its pledges.

The continuing labor dispute has been blamed in part on putting at risk the grant, one of 10 competitively awarded in 2010. The state has pledged to use the grant to boost student performance, improve teacher effectiveness and turn around low-performing schools.

The proposed contract rejected Thursday included several elements of Hawaii’s Race to the Top plan, including a new evaluation system, performance-based compensation and tenure rules.

"We’re sitting back down and trying to figure out what are all of our options," said Stephen Schatz, assistant superintendent for the Department of Education’s Office of Strategic Reform.

In voting Thursday, 67 percent of teachers disapproved of the proposed contract, which means they will remain for now under the two-year "last, best and final" contract offer with wage reductions that the state imposed in July.

Okabe said unanswered questions about performance-based compensation and an evaluation system still being developed appear to be among the greatest concerns teachers had about the proposed contract.

"I believe there was some misunderstandings" about what the evaluations system would entail, Okabe said.

Under the six-year proposed deal, 5 percent wage reductions would have continued through June 30, 2013, before a new salary schedule that recognizes the teachers’ years of service but also ties future raises to performance would begin.

The plan called for a revised teacher evaluation system that took student academic growth into account. Teachers rated "effective" or "highly effective" would have been eligible for 1 percent step raises annually.

The contract did not spell out, though, how student growth would be measured.

Kate Walsh, president of the Washington, D.C.-based National Council on Teacher Quality, said in the wake of the contract rejection, "there has to be a plan ‘B’" to move forward with Race promises.

She said that could mean passing legislation to institute the new evaluations.

But Walsh also pointed out that Hawaii is not the only state struggling with labor problems involving evaluations.

Baltimore’s teachers union voted down a contract last year that tied pay to performance, then approved the agreement in a second vote a month later. New York, also a Race to the Top state, has for months been in a battle with teachers about what new evaluations will look like.

Walsh said Hawaii’s teachers union should consider putting the proposed contract to a second vote after meeting with teachers to offer them more information and calm their fears.

"They could take this up for a revote in a matter of weeks," Walsh said. "It would take a lot longer to get a state law passed."