Post by WeNeed3 on Mar 12, 2009 18:02:59 GMT -5
District 203 candidates discuss merit pay for teachers
By Melissa Jenco | Daily Herald
Some candidates for the Naperville Unit District 203 school board are calling for a merit pay system for teachers.
More than half say they would like to explore such a system to reward teachers for high performance. Others, however, favor giving stipends to those who put in extra time.
The idea of merit pay has been in the spotlight this week after President Barack Obama included it in his proposal for improving education, but it's a system traditionally opposed by teachers unions.
District 203 school board candidates shared their thoughts on merit pay when they sat down with the Daily Herald recently to discuss issues facing the district.
Ten candidates are running in the April 7 election for four open 4-year seats on the board. Two incumbents are in the race - Susan Crotty and Jackie Romberg. Also running are Michael DelCiello, Jim Dennison, Steve Deutsch, Nancy Drapalik, Lynn Hodak, Patti Mathewson, Merle Siefken and Dave Weeks.
In District 203, teachers are paid based on the level of education they have completed and the number of years they have been teaching.
But some candidates say a merit-based system could be an incentive for teachers and a reward for those who rise above the rest.
"All teachers are not alike and all teachers should not be paid alike," Siefken said.
DelCiello agrees and said the system for determining merit pay would need to be one that isn't just tied to test scores but is more comprehensive and "rewards creativity, innovation and results."
Deutsch, Drapalik, Dennison and Romberg all expressed support for the idea of merit pay as well, giving the similar caveat that it would require a fair, effective evaluation process.
"It will be a challenge to set up evaluative situations but I don't think it's impossible," Drapalik said.
She and Dennison both said most professions reward employees for hard work and results. Romberg feels the ultimate goal is to make sure teachers are held accountable and Deutsch wants to make sure the pay scale attracts talented teachers just entering the field.
Weeks said he is not against performance-based pay as long as it is not determined by a direct supervisor and does not pit teachers against each other. But what he would really like to see is for teachers to be paid based on their position.
"If we want to be able to compete for the very best teachers we have to find a system where we don't pay the calculus teacher the same as the drivers ed teacher just because they have the same degree and same longevity," he said.
Some said they would prefer to give stipends for doing extra work rather than basing annual raises on performance evaluations. District 203 already gives stipends to teachers who take on additional responsibilities such as overseeing a club.
Hodak feels instituting a merit system would be too costly and time consuming for administrators and they should have a more flexible, ad hoc way of rewarding teachers.
Crotty said incoming Superintendent Mark Mitrovich has ideas for a system that resembles stipends more than merit pay and may be worth exploring.
For Mathewson, the evaluation process involved in assessing a teacher's performance is a concern, so she prefers stipends to merit pay.
"Teaching sometimes is as much an art as a science and I think it's very difficult to judge one over the other," Mathewson said.
District 203 candidates will continue to debate the issues at several forums, including one from 7 to 9 p.m. March 18 at Naperville Central High School, 440 W. Aurora Ave. There also will be a forum at 7 p.m. March 23 at the municipal center, 400 S. Eagle St.
www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=278687&src=76