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Highlands Today
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Union Passing On New Teacher Merit Pay Plan
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Published: September 20, 2007
SEBRING — Highlands County is among 14 districts opting not to participate in the new state teacher merit pay plan.
The Merit Award Program (M.A.P) is replacing the controversial Special Teachers are Rewarded (STAR) merit plan that lasted only one year.
"We have decided in negotiations so far to not participate in M.A.P. this current school year," said Stephen Picklesimer, president of the Highlands County teacher's union. A committee will explore options for a future merit award plan and the union will be surveying its membership to see whether they want to participate.
Highlands County teachers rejected the S.T.A.R. plan in February by a 2 to 1 vote.
"A lot of counties, like Highlands County, have not chosen to participate this year," he said. The timeline would have likely been too short to develop a plan to please the teachers since they had such a negative vote on the previous merit pay plan.
Forgoing the merit pay plan means the $640,000 allocated by the state for Highlands County would go back to the state.
Picklesimer noted the teacher evaluation component of both plans.
S.T.A.R. was based on 50 percent FCAT (Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test) scores and data showing student improvement and 50 percent on evaluation, he said. "Your relationship with your principal, the environment at your school, those kinds of things can be looked at as being political and can be looked at as showing favoritism."
The M.A.P. program is based 60 percent on student growth, but the evaluation portion can still keep a teacher from receiving merit pay, he said. "That's still a sticky point. I have a problem accepting the idea that one person's opinion, judged on one day," could prevent a teacher from earning merit pay.
S.T.A.R. was designed to pay 5 percent bonuses to 25 percent of the state's teachers.
M.A.P. would pay a bonus equal to 5-10 percent of the district's average teacher salary to top performing instructional and administrative personnel.
In addition to Highlands County, Polk and Okeechobee are among the 14 counties that have decided to skip the merit pay plan.
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