There's no doubt that the move by the Ogden School District to force teachers to a take-it-or-leave-it contract proposal underscores that the district, and its supervisor, Noel R. Zabriskie, believe they possess the upper hand. The economy remains tough, and there are many, many teachers unemployed across Utah and the nation.
Ogden School District teachers have until July 20 -- or two weeks -- to sign a contract that includes a raise of almost 3 percent and includes no insurance cost increases. Those who don't sign will not be invited to teach within the district this fall.
Doug Stephens, president of the Ogden Education Association, is upset, and no doubt many teachers are as well. Nevertheless, the teachers should sign the contract and get into the classrooms. Far fewer workers in the private sector are getting raises in their work. The district has high-quality teachers and we would prefer to see them in the classroom rather than the unemployment line.
The second, perhaps more controversial part of the district's "bold" plan, as Zabriskie calls it, is a gradual switch from step pay increases, based on years in the classroom, to merit pay increases, based on a teacher's professional performance.
Stephens is also upset with this change. He said, "So the NEA, President Obama and Congress have all been trying to figure out a fair system of performance pay, and no one has been able to come up with a system that is equitable, but a few board members and administrators in Ogden just magically have the answers?" The OEA president added that he expects a mass exodus of exceptional teachers from the district
We doubt that will occur.
Stephens is wrong to assume that the OSD feels it "magically" has answers to how to assess performance pay. In a meeting with the Standard-Examiner Editorial Board, Zabriskie made it clear that the district will seek many and diverse inputs in order to find a correct performance-based pay plan. The district administrator was clear that he wants input from teachers and teachers' organizations in devising a fair pay system.
Rather than take the kneejerk, anti-performance pay response that is so unfortunately common in public education, we advise teachers to contribute input toward a successful system. No one is hurrying this process; it will take six years, an appropriate time to enact change. Just shaking the head and saying, "it can't be done," in regards to performance pay, is not productive.
Comments