In the midst of contract negotiation acrimony, some Denver teachers are threatening to rain on the city's merit pay parade. In spite of these rumblings, Denver Classroom Teacher Association president Becky Wissink insists that the union's support for the ProComp plan (which we still think sounds more like a fertilizer than the nation's most sweeping reform in teacher pay)is not up for debate. Last year, 59 percent of the union voted to support ProComp, which will go into effect in 2005-2006 if voters approve a $25 million per year property tax hike this November. Some teachers may not go to bat for the proposal, however, unless the union and the district can come to a consensus on an across-the-board cost-of-living wage increase.

Still, Michelle Moses, a Denver school board member, is optimistic about ProComp's future: "Why would teachers do anything to put in jeopardy $25 million a year to pay them? It's like shooting yourself in the foot."