Rogers Gets Private Money to Help Fund Teacher Merit Pay
Teachers' union to file grievance against district administrators
Last updated Tuesday, January 23, 2007 10:58 PM CST in News
By Lana F. Flowers & Rose Ann Pearce
THE MORNING NEWS
ROGERS --A private source is providing money to match a federal grant to help fund a teacher merit pay program and a group of Rogers teachers plan to file a grievance protesting how the merit pay program bypassed the district's Personnel Policy Committee.
The announcement about the private funding came Tuesday as teachers gathered at Grace Hill Elementary School to work out details and draft the grant.
However, Deputy Superintendent Mark Sparks declined to name the source providing the matching money for the $5 million federal merit pay grant available under No Child Left Behind legislation.
Some questions about the merit pay grant still remained Tuesday and teachers will meet again at 4 p.m. Jan. 30 to work out more details.
It was decided Tuesday teachers will get merit pay based on students' improvement in test scores, Sparks said.
A handout on merit pay indicates 50 percent of participating teachers could get a maximum of $4,000; 15 percent of teachers could get a maximum of $3,000; 15 percent of teachers could get a maximum of $2,000; 15 percent of teachers could get a maximum of $1,000; and 5 percent of teachers would get no merit pay bonus.
Students' scores on standardized tests administered this spring would be the baseline scores for future merit awards, said Gary W. Ritter, associate professor or education and public policy at the University of Arkansas' Department of Education Reform.
The same students will take the same standardized tests in 2008 and those scores will be compared to the 2007 scores, Ritter said. Teachers then would get the first merit pay bonuses after the 2008 scores are tallied.
A former Rogers teacher, Faye Jeffery, who now is a school board member, voted against merit pay programs at the December and January board meetings.
She attended Tuesday's grant writing session and said she still does not support any plan awarding some teachers but not others.
School board member Kristin Cobbs said she also has several questions about how teachers will be rewarded for students' improved test scores.
"Some teachers have more problem children than others," Cobbs said. She said she hopes the issues are addressed.
The deadline for filing the federal grant application is Feb. 12. The school board will get information on the written grant proposal at its February meeting, Sparks said.
Meanwhile, the Education Association of Rogers decided Tuesday at a separate meeting held in Springdale to file a grievance with Rogers Superintendent Janie Darr. The teachers' union objects to bypassing the district's Personnel Policy Committee in developing the merit pay plan.
"This is protection of the law," said Lynn Valenteen-Marzoni, president of the local education group, which represents nearly half of Rogers' teachers. The group is an affiliate of the Arkansas Education Association.
The grievance will be filed on behalf of Rogers teachers, Valenteen-Marzoni said.
The Personnel Policy Committee operates under a state law adopted years ago giving school district employees a voice in compensation, benefits, contract issues, school calendars and other matters outlined in the law. Most districts have a personnel committee for certified personnel, such as teachers and administrators, and another for classified, or support personnel.
"It's the only teacher representative we have," Valenteen-Marzoni said. "We're standing up for teachers' rights."
The law is in place for districts without collective bargaining rights, she said.
The Rogers personnel committee is composed of one teacher elected from each building and two administrators, including a principal and Darr.
The local education association claims a proposed merit pay plan in Rogers should have been submitted to the committee for review and action since the pay plan will impact teacher salaries.
District administrators have called the proposed plan a "bonus" for teachers, which doesn't need personnel committee review.
The grievance first will go to Darr, but eventually could wind up in court, depending on how Darr and the Rogers School Board handle it. If rejected by Darr, the grievance will go to the school board. If the board declines to hear the grievance, it could become the basis of a lawsuit.
At a Glance
Funding Teacher Merit Pay
The Rogers School Board approved applying for a federal $5 million grant, available from No Child Left Behind legislation, to help fund merit pay for teachers.
The federal grant requires private matching money, which district officials announced Tuesday they acquired. The source of the money was not revealed.
Teachers in 10 of Rogers' 21 schools who had the needed majorities to participate in the merit pay program will get the first bonuses in spring 2008, if the district gets the federal grant.
Source: Rogers Deputy Superintendent Mark Sparks
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