From the St. Augustine Record
By MARCIA LANE
The state Legislature is on the verge of making major changes in the way educators are paid.
Supporters say the changes in merit pay will reward the best teachers and improve student performance, while critics, including St. Johns County Superintendent of Schools Joseph Joyner, say there is no credible research to show that it will raise student achievement.
Teachers and school districts can also expect other major changes in this session, some of which have not been anticipated, including:
* Teachers and other state employees will not be asked to contributed to their retirement plans, said State Sen. John Thrasher, R-St. Augustine. Five percent contributions from teachers earning $40,000 would be $2,000, too big a bite out of paychecks for people who in St. Johns County's school system haven't had raises in three years, although they did get a 1 percent step increase last year.
* The merit pay system, which would go into effect in 2014, would mean that most raises would go to teachers hired after July 1, 2011, who must be part of the merit pay system, and to teachers who give up tenure to be part of the merit pool. Teachers who elect to keep tenure are likely to have their salaries remain constant, which means no raises for them, said State Rep. Bill Proctor, R-St. Augustine. Any additional salary money will go toward the performance pay system.
"This shifts the focus to learning," Proctor said of merit pay, adding he believed most St. Johns County teachers would have no problems with qualifying.
"After two ineffective years, firing would be almost mandatory," said Proctor, who heads the House education committee.
He estimated about 5-8 percent of the state's teachers "probably ought to be doing something else."
Proctor said the bill "puts in statute our commitment to Race to the Top."
Race to the Top is the $4.35 billion school reform program introduced by President Barack Obama. It focuses on the K-12 education program at local and district levels. Florida, which didn't win until the second round, got $700 million.
Joyner raises questions
Schools Superintendent Joyner questions the effectiveness of performance pay.
"There's no credible research that's told us that across-the-board merit pay will raise state achievement," Joyner said. "I don't believe ... performance pay is the answer to better education. I personally don't believe it's the panacea to improving education."
Others see the merit pay measure as part of a move to break unions. At a recent school board meeting, local union president Debbie Etheredge was concerned about several bills she believed are aimed at unions. The merit pay bill, she said, "is encouraging everyone to give up due process."
Merit pay for teachers is on the fast track to be passed after the Florida Legislature opens Tuesday. The Senate is expected to take up the merit pay bill (Senate Bill 736) Wednesday.
The leadership is looking for quick passage. "Members have enough trouble voting for the tough issues once," Thrasher said.
Some are calling Senate Bill 736 the son of Senate Bill 6 -- last year's massive education reform effort that met heavy teacher and public opposition -- but it's a bill with some differences, including not going into effect until 2014.
Joyner says the bill may not take effect until then, but the measuring of teachers will begin in the 2011-12 school year. That's because parts of the bill mirrors the federal Race to the Top act and teacher measurement must begin this year.
By the time the Florida bill takes effect, teachers will already have been tested for three years and rankings would be handed out. Those rankings would determine whether a teacher stays or goes and whether they qualify for merit pay. Half of a teacher's evaluation would be based on student performance and that would be based on tests.
Joyner said one of the problems is that no one knows what the tests will include.
"I have a concern about the fairness of that," Joyner said, noting the tests that will be used to determine teacher effectiveness have yet to be designed.
Developing those tests will be extremely expensive, he said.
Teachers would have to get higher-than-average rankings to qualify for merit pay and no one with tenure would be considered.
No money for merit pay
The question of how to pay for merit raises is unresolved. Legislators are hoping in four years the economy will improve.
State Sen. Steve Wise, R-Jacksonville, is running the bill, which has been the subject of months of meetings and includes input from a variety of educators, something that didn't happen with SB6.
Thrasher, who heads up the powerful Senate rules committee, said he isn't offering many bills, but he did introduce one that would bar payroll deductions for union dues and prohibit use of dues for political purposes without the written consent of the person paying the dues.
He denies that's a payback for teacher opposition to SB6, which he introduced last year.
"Why should we (collect the dues)? To me, that's the question," Thrasher said.
While Proctor thinks there will be some changes to the Florida Retirement System, Thrasher doesn't see changes coming this year.
"It's not going to happen," Thrasher said.
Some legislators want to see government workers pay 5 percent of their pay into the retirement system.
Local school officials have been among those questioning the need to change the retirement system which covers all state workers.
Joyner said benefits and "some small retirement" were two of the ways the district is able to attract non-instructional workers who may get lower pay than in the private sector.
"This is not about the health of the retirement system," Joyner said. "This is about getting funds to fill the deficit in the budget."
The district is already predicting a shortage of $16 million in funding from the state based on Gov. Rick Scott's budget. The shortage would increase another $4.24 million without the shift in FRS payments.
"I just wonder when police officers, teachers and firefighters went from being heroes to being burdens on society," Joyner said.
Education proposals at a glance
* Bar payroll reductions, require written permission for using dues for political activity.
* Not require employees to pay portion of Florida Retirement System contribution.
* Eliminate tenure for teachers hired after 2014.
* Base 50 percent of teacher evaluation on student performance.
* Teachers now on contract can opt to chose pay for performance and forego tenure.
* Teachers who don't forego tenure would not see any pay increases from current salary levels.
http://staugustine.com/news/local-news/2011-03-05/change-coming-education
This is ridiculous. I have been a teacher for three years in Duval county and am repulsed at the thought of being paid on the performance of my students. If this is the case, then I should receive additional "merit pay" for the hours I spend tutoring my students, or being their nurse, or their psychiatrist, or even their only positive role model to look up to. Here, I have an idea...Why don't we make EVERYONE have merit pay. This way, I won't wait so long at the DMV, or to get my food from a restaurant. Oh, and don't forget it'll shorted the length of how long it takes to actually speak to a representative when I call somewhere important.
ReplyDeleteI agree but we have to get the word to thoe that don't know or understand...
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