Teacher's union, school officials question merit pay proposal

MOORE — It’s not that Jill Dudley, the president of the Moore Association of Classroom Teachers, doesn’t like the idea of merit pay.

In fact, she says, Moore teachers have used a merit pay system for years.

Dudley says teachers in her district already have merit pay proposals in their contract, and can negotiate more if they want to.

“If we want, we can go to the negotiation table and develop some form of merit pay,” she said. “We have that ability.”

Plus, in Moore, district teachers receive additional pay for increasing their education, serving as mentor teachers or receiving national board certification.

“We already have merit pay in the sense that if you go further your education — that is, doing something to merit additional pay — you receive a stipend.”

Additionally, she said, teachers who are board certified by the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards receive $5,000 per year for 10 years and teachers who serve as mentor teaches to others are paid an extra $500.

“Our state is spending millions on that form of merit pay and I support that,” Dudley said.

What concerns her — and other area school officials — is a problem over a commitment. The Oklahoma Legislature, she says, made a commitment to raise teacher pay to the regional average.

And so far that hasn’t happened.

“Our concern, as an association, is we want them (state lawmakers) to keep the promise of getting us to the regional level; then we’ll talk about merit pay, extending the school day and other issues like that.”

Dudley isn’t alone in her belief.

Norman schools Superintendent Dr. Joe Siano agrees.

Like Dudley, Siano believes lawmakers must solve the regional pay issue before moving on to a merit pay proposal.

“We have a situation in our state where we’ve had a target of meeting the regional average (in teacher pay),” he said. “There’s been a commitment made to do that. I think we have to meet that commitment first.”

And while Siano and Dudley both acknowledge a regional pay level for teachers is “a moving target,” both officials say reaching the level must be the state’s first priority.

“Lawmakers need to keep their commitment,” he said.

But regional pay isn’t the pair’s only concern.

A merit pay proposal — which should be designed to be fair and open to all teachers — would be expensive and could cost millions of extra dollars.

“The proposal presented at the August interim study included data on a school in Little Rock, Ark.,” Dudley said. “And that plan was implemented with private donations and not state allocated money. I believe a state plan would cost millions.”

Oklahoma Education Association president Roy Bishop said a merit pay plan could cost the state in excess of $470 million.

“The criteria has to be fair, and open to everyone,” Bishop said. “Every one has to have the chance to get it. So, as an example say you gave a $10,000 stipend for merit to teachers; Oklahoma has 47,000 teachers so lawmakers are going to have to come up with $470 million to fund a merit pay plan.”

And no matter what type of plan is developed, Bishop says, the cost will be expensive.

“Whatever they do they are going to have to put that kind of money into salaries and the merit pay plan. It won’t be cheap.”

And those extra funds, school leaders believe, could also be used in other areas.

School costs, Siano said, continue to increase and state lawmakers don’t have a good record when it comes to funding district operational budgets.

“I don’t think we’ve adequately funded common education for all of the variables that go into common education,” Siano said. “Granted, our state has made a significant effort to fund some aspects, and it’s been a good effort.”

But operational costs, he said, haven’t been addressed.

“Operational funding, keeping up with the cost of running the district, the prices of textbooks and everything that goes with opening the doors and running the district, keep going up,” he said. “There’s a significant gap in that.”

And those issues, both officials believe, must be addressed first.

“It’s a complicated issue,” Siano said. “I would hate for it to be rushed into without all the variables being considered. They’re gonna’ have to do lots of work between now and February.