Bill basing teacher pay on student performance advancing

Mar 10, 2010 — Tampa Tribune

Mike Salinero

Mar. 10, 2010 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- TALLAHASSEE -- A bill Republicans say will focus teaching on children's performance, not on job security for teachers and administrators, is rolling ahead in the state Legislature.

Wednesday, the Republican majority on the state Senate Education Pre-K-12 Committee advanced legislation that would base teachers' pay and continued employment on their students' performance instead of on the teacher's experience and advanced degrees.

The bill would penalize school districts that don't adopt the new teacher performance measures by reducing the district's education funding by 5 percent. The districts would have to raise property taxes to fill the gap in state funding.

Sen. John Thrasher, the bill's sponsor, said he wants to ensure every student, including poor and minority children, have the "best and brightest teachers."

"The only way to do that in my opinion is to evaluate them on student (learning) gains," said Thrasher, R-St. Augustine.

As speaker of the state House of Representatives in the late 1990s, Thrasher helped push through former Gov. Jeb Bush's education reforms, including the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test and school grading. Bush's Foundation for Excellence in Education, an education reform group, supports the current legislation.

State and local teacher unions oppose the bill, saying it will take away local control of education decisions and impose a one-size-fits-all approach on hiring and firing.

They also point out that the bill includes no funding for assessment exams the districts are required to develop to assess student progress. The assessment tests would be approved by the state Department of Education. Separate legislation now being considered would phase out the FCAT.

The lack of funding also means districts will have to pick up the increased pay for high-performing teachers.

"You are going to have issues with performance pay," said Andrew Spar, president of the Volusia County Teachers Organization. "As that bill is laid out, you would have to decrease some teachers' salaries in order to increase other teachers' salaries."

Union members also say it's unfair to judge a teachers' effectiveness when he or she teaches students who come from homes where parents aren't involved and books and computers are scarce.

Thomas Lentz, a high school English teacher in Polk County, came to Tallahassee Monday to protest the bill. Lentz said some of his students are immigrants who don't speak English well and often miss school helping their parents support the family.

"To judge students on a single test they take a single time a year is unfair," Lentz said. "To judge a teacher by that single test is also unfair."

But several former teachers told the committee they support the bill because it will reward teachers who work hard and weed out those who are lazy and incompetent.

Reporter Mike Salinero can be reached at (813) 259-8303.

Newstex ID: KRTB-0201-42770192