The Money Trail

Conversations are taking place across the country. Many Americans, despite heavy fire from teachers unions, school boards and their ilk, are looking at alternatives means to improve education. Throwing money at the problem as we've been doing over the course of the last 3 decades clearly has not improved our educational advancement one iota. All the while, in fact, it seems we're falling behind other countries and importing technology wizards and skilled professionals from the very countries we are competing with and expanding the gap between our haves and have nots.

Among the many alternatives being discussed is the benefit of paying our teachers competive salaries and providing proper incentive for the task demanded. More money is not the answer. However, redistributing the money we have is. Applying it to those who have thrown their backs into it and properly compensating them for their contribution to our young minds who will then go out multiply that benefit of knowledge in our economy is working in other states. Missouri could learn and benefit from such a strategy.

This is just a random snapshot of one conversation taking place somewhere in our county (From a blogger in Ohio with an education background~found in a random search): Top 10 Education Stories of '07

2. Merit pay. Buoyed by the qualified support of Barack Obama and pilot programs in Houston, New York City, and Denver, merit pay has received renewed discussion around the country. Merit pay, or pay for performance, can take many forms, including school wide bonuses (like the recently adopted plan in NYC, or bonuses based on test scores for individual teachers. The fact that these plans have received attention in a presidential campaign means that the idea is growing and becoming part of the national discussion on education reform.

In fact, merit pay has been one of the stumbling blocks in the reauthorization of NCLB. Chairman George Miller became incensed in 2007 when the NEA appeared to reneg on a plan to support merit pay proposal to be included in the draft reauthorization. The NEA is opposed to merit pay.

Meanwhile, merit pay is going on the ballot in Oregon.

What a surprise~the NEA opposes Merit Pay. Many individual teachers support it. Administrators are making LOTS of money and they answer to the NEA and to the teachers unions. These are the people making anywhere from $100K to over $200K. Do the math and follow the money trail~you will find it does NOT lead to the classroom, but to the bank accounts of the educrats, while the rest of us are left out there in no-man's land.

There are plenty of successful models to choose from~Missouri should stray off the money trail and choose one.