Some Delaware teachers are not happy about a state push to restructure their pay scale – despite its design to boost their paychecks.
Task force members sculpting the proposal put forward by Gov. Jack Markell (D-Delaware) are holding public workshops this week in all three counties.
None of the seven teachers attending an event in Dover Tuesday night reacted positively, saying resources could be better spent elsewhere. More than 100 showed up in Lewes Monday.
Linda Brown, a teacher at Towne Point Elementary in Dover, says she especially takes issue with a proposed “teacher leader” position that comes with extra pay, but it’s unsure how they would be selected.
“I feel like this is going to create divisiveness and, for me, I would probably opt out. Just because I don’t think that this is the best use of the state’s money,” said Brown.
“I think that we could use the millions of dollars they’re trying to use to spend in the community.”
“We’re trying to make sure we get out of this “favoritism land” as much as possible and work on how these all need to be meaningful, they all need to involve teachers who are still in the classroom and other high-level parameters like that,” says Lindsay O’Mara, Markell’s education policy advisor.
O’Mara notes the task force is aware of worries that it could benefit those in favor with the administration.
She says they envision a possible selection committee made up of teachers, but that it could be left up to the schools to decide.
Within the teacher leader category, there would also be senior teacher leaders that could earn up to $80,000 annually. These positions would last for roughly three years, according to O’Mara, but those currently serving as teacher leaders could reapply.
Markell has been calling for better teacher pay for the past two years in his State of the State Addresses.
Current teachers would be able to opt out of this proposal and stick with the “step and lane” model currently used. That system solely takes into account an educator’s degree and years of experience.
The proposal involves giving newer teachers more pay more quickly, but also reaching peak salary caps at an earlier point in their careers.
It would incorporate teacher evaluations as part of the progression process, but only for the first three steps.
Early models show the initiative costing the state between $6 million and $7 million for the first year, but officials say that number could fluctuate.
It also has competing interests in a state budget ballooning with growth in Medicaid and stagnant revenue streams that axed many of the governor’s new initiatives put forth this past January.
Many in attendance also noted that their pay scale doesn’t affect how they do their jobs.
“You could pay me a million dollars, but that’s not going to change my students’ home environment,” said Brown.
Others said the money proposed for the new system could be better spent in the current system that’s more objective.
Two more forums will be held in the Bear Library and Carvel State Office Building Wednesday evening.
A final report from the task force is due on the governor’s desk in late November.
