Who says teachers don't want higher pay?
At different times, pundits have said teachers care more about the support they get from their principal and their working conditions than how much they are paid. Maybe.
There's an interesting trend going on out west in Montana and Wyoming. Wyoming, which is rich in a growing coal mining revenues, has been pumping money into its schools, and in particular into its teacher salaries, according to a story in the Great Falls Tribune. Beginning teacher salaries have risen quickly. In a few years, teachers can earn about $50,000, far more than in neighboring Montana. Montana spends about $5,000 per student on schools while Wyoming now spends $14,000, according to the Tribune.
What that means is that teachers are leaving in droves for Wyoming. Really. Montana's school board estimates that 70 to 80 percent of its new teachers are leaving. "We realize money isn't everything, but it sure does help," one teacher interviewed said.
Locally, Baltimore County's teachers have been complaining about not getting a raise last year, even as pay for teachers increased in other school districts.
And there's an interesting experiment going on in Washington, D.C., where the teachers may be voting next month on whether to give up tenure protections for a major boost in pay. There teachers who perform well could earn up to $131,000 a year.
It will be interesting to see whether they vote for the money as teachers in Montana are doing with their feet.
Baltimoresun.com's 
Comments
I like the idea of losing tenure in return for the performance based salary scale. I may be a new teacher but I am not blind to the fact that there are a lot of teachers hiding behind their comfortable tenure. Plus who doesn't like higher pay, if you are doing your job(which means continuing your education to be a better teacher) then you should have nothing to worry about. My only concern is when you begin to think about how we will measure the success of a teacher and who is responsible for keep track of this. It can get messy fast. I am curious to know more about the structure of a program that would abolish tenure for a competitive pay scale, I can't see a union liking this idea.
Posted by: Teacher | September 9, 2008 8:09 PM
Who will determine which teachers are "doing your job"? Tests? Then I want to move from the area I currently work to a central area school; where parent involvement is higher; where economic factors lead to higher test scores. I can't possibly stay in the area where students need me the most because their scores, for matters out of our control, will be lower. Or the principal? I'm going to transfer to a school where the principal is someone I worked with when she was a classroom teacher or a principal who likes me. My current principal won't put me in for merit pay because I'm too vocal about the things that are not working in my current school. I’m not saying that all principals would fall into the group who would “punish” outspoken teachers but they are out there.
The truth is, there is no just way to measure a teacher’s success to determine the amount of their paycheck.
As for those teachers who are “hiding behind their comfortable tenure”, if they are that bad, principals need to take the steps available to remove that teacher. Tenure is not a license to get away without doing your job nor is it a 100% safe place for those teachers to hide. School systems have procedures to remove tenured teachers who do not perform their jobs. The process takes time and a good deal of work and documentation so some principals don’t make the effort.
Posted by: Not So New Teacher | September 11, 2008 7:19 PM