The trend in education may be heading towards performance pay, but the St. Johns County School District isn’t sure how it will work.
"This is the third time the Legislature has brought up a performance pay package," said Bill Fehling, district four school board member. "For the most part, we are okay with the theory. The ability to properly measure the performance is not quite that easy."
Sen. John Thrasher proposed the Education Personnel bill — Senate Bill 6 — earlier this year which contains a mandate that certain performance criteria be included in district adopted salary schedules.
Thrasher’s bill amends Florida Statute 1012.22 paragraph C subsection one. The original statute states that a district school board shall adopt a salary schedule "designed to furnish incentives for improvement in training and for continued efficient service." Senate Bill 6 amends the statute so it would state "the district school board shall adopt a salary schedule that compensates employees based on their performance."
Fehling said there are more things performance pay doesn’t measure than what it does.
"Not all of our children can be treated like a widget," Fehling said. "They are all different."
Fehling said the education field is different than the business field and that he has heard comments from local teachers who say they do not support the initiative.
"In education, as an industry, everyone gets along [and works together]," said Fehling, about the practice of teachers sharing ideas and strategies with each other. "Teachers are worried that you may lose some of that because it becomes a competition [with performance pay.]"
Senate Bill 6 seeks to amend the statute so "more than 50 percent" of each employee’s compensation must be based on student learning gains. The bill deletes a provision in the statute that requires a district school board to consider prior teaching experience and professional experience in the field of education as a basis for compensation.
Additionally, the bill defines terms of employment for teachers hired after July 1, 2010. Each new person hired after that date will receive a probationary contract for one year during which that teacher may be dismissed without cause. The bill states classroom teachers may receive up to five annual contracts in a school district. In order to obtain an annual contract for the sixth year, the teacher must hold a professional certificate from the State Board of Education and have been recommended by the district superintendent for the contract.
Fehling said he is not certain that Thrasher’s bill would pass during this legislative session, but said that doesn’t mean it’s gone forever.
"If [Senate Bill 6] doesn’t pass it doesn’t mean it’s gone," he said. "We are doing what we still think is best for the classroom and the students. We know what our community wants and needs. We are gearing our education based on that because it is right."
At The Recorder’s press time, Senate Bill 6 was in the Senate Committee for Education Pre-K through 12.
March 13th 2010 - 1:10PM