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Republicans Cry Foul Over Vilsack Veto of Teacher Pay Study

Posted on: Monday, 5 June 2006, 12:01 CDT

By Dan Gearino, Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, Iowa

Jun. 3--DES MOINES -- Republican leaders are fuming over Gov. Tom Vilsack's decision to scrap a study about paying teachers based on student performance.

Vilsack used his line-item veto power to eliminate the study from a massive education bill he signed Thursday. He is replacing the study by asking an existing education policy group to look at alternative ways of paying teachers.

The $8.5 million allocated for the study remains in the bill, even though the policy language for it has been deleted.

The governor's office announced the line-item veto at the bottom of a news release that came out more than four hours after the signing ceremony.

Republican legislators stood with Vilsack at the signing event, unaware of the veto. Sen. Paul McKinley, R-Chariton, co-chairman of the Senate Education Committee, said the governor spoke to him about the change moments after the event ended.

"He turned around to me and said 'You're not going to be very happy,'" McKinley said.

McKinley said he feels double-crossed by the governor because Republicans agreed to support other parts of the education bill on the condition that the pay study be included.

"This was the Senate Republicans' number one priority," he said.

The Republican plan involved appointing a committee to create a pay-for-performance system that would be tried out in a small number of schools. This was intended to be a pilot project that might lead to a wider acceptance of alternative pay methods.

Vilsack said in a news release that it isn't practical to base teacher pay on student performance because there are too many variables to measure.

"The model for success in Iowa schools includes guaranteeing that we have competitive salaries and teachers have access to development and mentoring programs and assessment based on Iowa's teaching standards," he said.

The $8.5 million earmarked for the study remains in the state budget. Vilsack said he plans to use the money to pay for his own version of a pay study, conducted by an existing state panel, the Institute for Tomorrow's Workforce. The group, co-chaired by Republican Marvin Pomerantz, has spent the last year looking at ways to improve the state's schools.

McKinley said the Pomerantz group is unlikely to propose any meaningful change in teacher pay methods. This is the same group that called for boosting teacher salaries by $300 million over two years.

The Legislature eventually approved a three-year plan to raise salaries $210 million, which was part of the package signed Thursday by Vilsack.

McKinley said he wouldn't have supported the pay raises if he had known the pay study would be removed.

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Copyright (c) 2006, Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, Iowa

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: Waterloo Courier

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