Education

County’s Decision To Provide Bonuses, Not Raises, Will Bring ‘an End’ to Merit-Pay Plan, Teachers Say

February 22, 1989 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Robert R.Spillane

A decision by the Fairfax County, Va., school board last week to award top-rated teachers bonuses instead of raises “will bring an end” to the district’s performance-based pay plan, predicted Walter J. Mika Jr., president of the Fairfax Education Association.

The compromise measure, which the board passed unanimously, will provide highly rated teachers with a 9 percent salary bonus, instead of the 10 percent pay raise favored by the union and by Superintendent of Schools Robert R. Spillane.

The Fairfax pay plan has attracted national acclaim since its inception in 1986. In a surprise move late last month, Mary Hatwood Futrell, president of the National Education Association, urged the board to fully fund the program, saying that to do so would mark a “truly historic” date in education. (See Education Week, Feb. 8, 1989.)

The nea’s local affiliate has backed the program for the past two and a half years, based on Mr. Spillane’s promise that teachers would receive a 30 percent across-the-board pay hike and a 10 percent raise for top-rated teachers.

However, the board never formally ratified that agreement.

Members of the fea’s representative assembly last week passed a vote of “no confidence” in the school board for failing to fully fund the plan.

The union will send a ballot to its 6,800 members in the next few weeks asking whether they want to continue supporting performance-based pay, Mr. Mika said.

Meanwhile, supporters of the8compromise note that the school board is expected to save nearly $3 million by replacing the pay hike with a salary bonus. Unlike the pay raise, the bonus will not affect an individual teacher’s future salary scale and it will not count toward teachers’ retirement benefits.

Ms. Futrell last week accused the board of “reneging” on its initial commitment and said the nea will support any decision made by its local affiliate.

In a written statement, Mr. Spillane tried to downplay the effects of the compromise, insisting that it “maintains the integrity” of the performance-evaluation plan and will not result in a major difference in teachers’ take-home pay.

The merit-pay vote came as part of the board’s action on an $809-million budget, which also included an 8 percent pay raise for all teachers, the last of three across-the-board pay hikes promised as part of the performance-based pay agreement.--lo

A version of this article appeared in the February 22, 1989 edition of Education Week as County’s Decision To Provide Bonuses, Not Raises, Will Bring ‘an End’ to Merit-Pay Plan, Teachers Say

Events

Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and other jobs in K-12 education at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Education Briefly Stated: March 13, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
9 min read
Education Briefly Stated: February 21, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Briefly Stated: February 7, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Briefly Stated: January 31, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
9 min read