Florida

Last year the Florida legislature passed a law that scrapped the traditional salary schedule for teachers in favor of a new four-step career ladder. Not unlike the Milken TAP program model (see "Unions" in 3/5/04 TQB), the new schedule would make room for advanced teacher positions that are compensated at a higher rate. A lead teacher would earn $12,500 more than a regular classroom teacher and a mentor teacher would earn $20,000 a year more. The schedule did not directly target high-needs schools but the law s architects expect that the promise of higher pay will draw good teachers to lower performing schools to win one of the well-compensated but few spots. In addition, the law requires school officials to reduce the disproportionate percentage of first-year and out-of-field teachers in low-performing schools. The only problem Governor Jeb Bush's budget contains no money for it. Gov. Bush insists that the necessary $250 million will only become available if a costly class-size amendment is repealed. Class size versus Teacher Bonuses. Stay tuned&

Denver

Members of the Denver Classroom Teachers Association will vote on Monday on a proposal to reward teachers for among other things increasing student achievement and for working in high-poverty schools. Unlike a lot of performance pay plans, the union leadership in Denver is a solid supporter of the measure. Remarked Union President Becky Wissink: "It is good for the students of Denver because it will attract and retain the most effective teachers to schools where needs are greatest." Assuming the teachers follow Wissink's advice, one very high hurdle remains: Denver voters would have to approve a $25 million property tax. That vote probably won't occur until November 2005.

And Encouraging Words from the AFT

There's further proof this week that the AFT is the more progressive of the nation's two teachers' unions (the other having been renamed this week as the "Praxis of Evil" in a hilarious piece in this week's Gadfly). In this month's American Teacher, AFT President Sandra Feldman throws her union support behind reforming teacher compensation. Her article urges schools to consider the Milken Family Foundation's Teacher Advancement Program (TAP) that aims to restructure the roles, responsibilities, evaluations and compensation of teachers in participating schools. We only hope teacher union leaders across the country assume a similarly open mind to changing what Florida's Chancellor Warford recently called an "80-year-old pay structure that's not working."