Denver Voters Approve Tax Hike to Underwrite Incentive-Based Teacher Pay

Denver voters have given the go-ahead to a new pay plan for the city’s teachers, capping a nationally watched, six-year drive for the groundbreaking change.

In the Nov. 1 polling, voters agreed to $25 million in additional property taxes to finance the plan, which stops rewarding teachers for years in the classroom and instead recognizes them for raising student achievement, adding to their skills, and teaching where they are needed most. The tax increase, pegged to inflation, amounts initially to $24 per year on every $100,000 of a home’s assessed value.

The measure, ballot question 3A, won a clear victory, with support from 58.5 percent of voters. It had been backed by Denver’s popular mayor, John W. Hickenlooper, the City Council, and other business and civic leaders, as well as a campaign war chest of more than $1 million, mostly...