On TVW yesterday, WEA president Mary Lindquist explained that the WEA remains opposed to a merit or performance pay plan for teachers. This discussion appears at 15:00:00:
The rationale given by the union leader is that teachers will stop helping students (by sharing information about students), if merit pay is introduced.
The follow-up interview of Senator McAuliffe indicates that she is intent on pursuing federal Race to the Top funding, which could mean an additional $200-$300 million for Washington state. However, in order to qualify for these funds, the senator will have to demonstrate that the state is undertaking education reform in four areas, including teacher compensation reform. The regulations issued in August explain that she will be required to show evidence of a performance pay plan for principals and teachers. See the Department of Education Race to the Top regulations for exact language under part C. Great Teachers and Leaders.
The union leader's statement has just made Senator Mcauliffe's job much more difficult, if not impossible, and clearly diminishes Washington state's chances at receiving $200-$300 million in Race to the Top funds.
This is ironic, to say the least, since the union leader says over and over again in this interview that the way to fix public education is to pour more money into the system.
