Houston teachers refuse blood money

[Susan Harman <susanharman@igc.org>]

> Jan. 16, 2008, 11:23PM
> Not everyone wants cut of HISD's cash
> For a variety of reasons, some employees opting out of bonus plan
>
> By ERICKA MELLON
> Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
>
> A year ago, bilingual teacher Carlos Barrera earned a $3,075 bonus 
> from the Houston school district for a job well done. With a wife and 
> two children, he could use some extra cash this year, too.
>
> But Barrera chose to pass up the chance, taking a stand against the 
> district's $25 million performance pay program.
>
> "They could invest the money better if they want to help the 
> children," said Barrera, who used his winnings last January to buy 10 
> computers to help his students learn English at Elrod Elementary in 
> southwest Houston.
>
> Barrera is one of 44 employees who — according to the school district 
> — chose not to participate in the bonus program this year. At least 
> three of those employees say, however, that they did not intend to opt 
> out of the program and apparently were included on the list because of 
> a computer error.
>
> The district provided the list in response to an open-records request 
> from the Houston Chronicle.
>
> Superintendent Abelardo Saavedra agreed to make the bonus program 
> optional this year after last January's inaugural payout prompted 
> anger and tears among some teachers and other employees, who called 
> the plan unfair and divisive. As Saavedra predicted, only a small 
> number of the estimated 16,000 eligible employees accepted his offer 
> to opt out.
>
> Employees had to decide whether to take part without knowing whether 
> they had earned a bonus, which could top $7,000 for teachers of core 
> subjects.
>
> Still, the potential cash could not sway some teachers who oppose the 
> idea of unequal bonuses based on students' standardized test scores.
>
> "I don't believe in incentive pay for teachers," said Jennifer 
> Justiss, a French teacher at Lee High School who received a $1,000 
> bonus last year but opted out this year. "Teachers didn't go into this 
> business for money. You can't put dollar signs on kids' performance."
>
> 99 asked to repay last year
> About 75 percent of the teachers who opted out did not get bonuses 
> last year, according to a Chronicle analysis.
>
> Barbara Falcon, a part-time economics teacher at Waltrip High, 
> initially received a $525 bonus last year, but was one of 99 employees 
> who were asked to return the money. District officials said they had 
> miscalculated the amounts for some part-time employees.
>
> Falcon said she repaid the district but wanted no part of the 
> incentive plan this time around. "I thought, 'I'm not going through 
> that again,' " said Falcon, who retired three years ago but returned 
> on a part-time basis at her principal's request.
>
> Seven of the 99 employees still have not repaid a total of $6,127.56 
> from last year, HISD spokesman Terry Abbott said this week.
>
> He added that the district intends to recoup the money but has not 
> decided on the next course of action.
>
> The Houston Federation of Teachers has strongly opposed the bonus plan 
> since Saavedra unveiled it in 2005, but union president Gayle Fallon 
> said she didn't encourage her 6,500 members to opt out.
>
> "It's kind of like throwing away a lottery ticket," she said. "You 
> absolutely have minimal control over whether you win, but you might."
>
> Fallon added that district officials shouldn't assume that employees 
> support the plan simply because they agreed to take part.
>
> "Why would they turn down free money?" she asked. "I still think it's 
> one of the most idiotic ways to pay teachers I've ever seen."
>
> Saavedra and school trustees counter that the bonuses will help 
> recruit and retain the best teachers, rewarding those whose students 
> perform better than expected on state and national exams.
>
> "We do recognize that there are teachers who are philosophically 
> opposed to performance pay, and that's OK," said Karen Soehnge, the 
> district's chief academic officer.
>
> Similar system in Denver
> Teachers' pay traditionally has been based on their college degrees 
> and years of experience. However, schools across the country have been 
> experimenting recently with tying pay to performance — a common tactic 
> in the business world.
>
> The Denver school system, which, like Houston, has drawn national 
> attention for its pay plan, gave veteran teachers the option of not 
> participating from the beginning.
>
> Since the plan went into full effect last school year, about 40 
> percent of Denver's 4,400 educators have taken part.
>
> "When we proposed the new professional compensation system, we just 
> wanted to make sure the teachers made that conscious decision of 
> becoming part of the new system," said Henry Roman, a district 
> compensation specialist. "It's sort of the democratic approach that we 
> had."
>
> ericka.mellow@chron.com