Cincinnati Teachers Rebuff Performance Pay

By Bess Keller

Amid bad feelings between the union and district administrators, Cincinnati teachers overwhelmingly rejected a groundbreaking plan that would have based their pay on performance.

The teachers quashed the proposal by a vote of 1,892 to 73 taken May 15-16, with about two-thirds of eligible, full-time teachers casting ballots.

The union and the district set the vote in contract negotiations two years ago, after agreeing on a proposal that has since been modified. ( "Teacher Performance-Pay Plan Modified in Cincinnati," Sept. 19, 2002.) The issue could be taken up again in talks for a contract that will replace the one expiring at the end of this calendar year. Meanwhile, leaders on both sides last week...