Panel OKs Rewards for Certain Teachers

By Raviya H. Ismail, The Lexington Herald-Leader, Ky.

Feb. 16–FRANKFORT — After nearly three hours of deliberation, the Senate Committee on Education Committee yesterday approved two bills that would give monetary rewards to physics, chemistry and math teachers whose students score high on Advanced Placement exams, provide incentives to poor students that score well on those exams and give a salary bonus to teachers of those subjects.

The bills are in response to what many education advocates believe is an alarming need for science and math graduates to become competitive in the global economy.

"We have to have graduates that can compete," University of Kentucky President Lee T. Todd Jr., told the committee. "There’s no state that has put into action a real plan to deal with this problem."

Todd is chairman of a task force aimed at finding strategies to improve the state’s performance in these subjects.

Other members of the task force attended the hearing and testified on the importance of both bills.

Senate Bill 1, which provides incentives for academic achievement, is sponsored by Sen. Gerald Neal, D-Louisville, and Sen. Ken Winters, R-Murray.

Senate Bill 2, which would require school districts to give a salary supplement to teachers of chemistry, physics and math, is sponsored by Neal and Senate Majority Leader Dan Kelly, R-Springfield.

Those who opposed portions of the bills, most vocally the Kentucky Education Association, feel a salary supplement for certain teachers is preferential and could be detrimental.

"KEA believes that other incentive programs could be considered before differentiated compensation programs that threaten to break down school teamwork," said KEA President Frances Steenbergen. "There is no evidence that merit pay improves teaching and learning."

Sen. Tim Shaughnessy, D-Louisville, tried to introduce an amendment that would delete the monetary rewards to teachers.

"This is not differential pay," said Shaughnessy. "This is not compensating teachers based on a greater commitment for their effort. This is compensating teachers on the test scores … the best teachers being rewarded by the test scores of the best students."

Teachers attending the meeting were disappointed the bills were approved.

"We are seven years from the state-mandated proficiency level and they are focusing on an elite group of students instead of all of our students," said Rachel Dwyer Mantooth, an English and journalism teacher at Montgomery County High School.

Both bills may be voted on by the entire Senate today.

Reach Raviya H. Ismail at (859) 231-3342, 1-800-950-6397, Ext. 3342, or rismail@herald-leader.com [mailto:rismail@herald-leader.com].

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Copyright (c) 2007, The Lexington Herald-Leader, Ky.

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