School chiefs urge cash lure for math and science teachers
Forty-eight school superintendents across Massachusetts are calling for cash incentives to attract math and science teachers, a new effort to compete with higher-paying private businesses that would change the way teachers are paid.
In a statement that will be sent to lawmakers and Governor-elect Deval L. Patrick in time for next year's budget talks, superintendents led by those in Andover and Springfield are seeking support to press the issue with teachers unions, which negotiate contracts and oppose dramatic changes in pay scales.
Now, teachers are paid based on their education and years of experience, generally with across-the-board, automatic pay raises.
The superintendents said they want to offer math and science teachers higher pay for mentoring other teachers, accepting extra duties, and "other professional incentives," which the statement does not specify. Additional incentives could include merit pay for raising student test scores, or higher starting salaries, if the districts and unions agree, according to several superintendents and Alison Fraser , director of the Great Schools Campaign, a coalition of business, community, and school leaders that is gathering signatures for the effort.
The coalition -- which represents about a fifth of the state's superintendents and some of the largest districts, including Boston -- says schools need more incentives to lure math and science teachers from private companies that offer more than the typical $35,000 starting teacher pay.
The state Department of Education estimates that Massachusetts will need about 1,000 new math teachers next year, but that only 220 students in area colleges are pursuing a license to teach math. As a result, schools must lure candidates from other professions or hire people who don't specialize in math.
"I would like the freedom to hire people for what they're worth," said Revere Superintendent Paul Dakin . "I think it's going to become a necessity in this profession to do that."
The coalition's effort is part of a broader plan to train more math and science teachers, as more school systems nationwide are experimenting with teacher pay. Springfield is launching a voluntary program tying some teacher raises, in part, to student test scores. Over the past year, Denver, Houston, and Chicago started different versions of merit pay plans. Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney has been unable to win legislative support to take his merit pay plan statewide.
Patrick declined to comment on the issue through a spokeswoman. He said during the campaign that he supports merit pay to reward all teachers in a school for raising test scores, but not for rewarding individuals.
The co-chairpersons of the Legislature's Joint Committee on Education said they were willing to listen to superintendents, but they pointed out that the superintendents can already bargain new salary schedules with teachers unions.
Senator Robert A. Antonioni , a Leominster Democrat, said he would discuss new ways of paying teachers -- particularly math and science teachers because they are in demand. But he said he doubted the state would mandate any sweeping programs.
Representative Patricia A. Haddad , a Somerset Democrat, said she believes merit pay is unproven, but said she would support any contract that is approved by schools and teachers.
The Massachusetts Teachers Association, the state's largest teachers union, said it agrees with paying teachers more for handling additional duties, such as mentoring. But the union opposes merit pay, such as tying teachers' pay to improving test scores, or paying math and science teachers more than others.
"If we were all compensated for the level we should be, they wouldn't have as hard a time getting math and science people," said association president Anne Wass.
The type of incentives that superintendents are pushing, or considering, varies widely.
Springfield has adopted the most radical changes, and this month will name the first 100 teachers whose future raises will depend on student achievement and other measures. Belmont Superintendent Peter B. Holland said he would offer performance pay to teachers if the union allowed it; currently, only administrators' pay is linked partly to performance.
Andover Superintendent Claudia L. Bach said she simply wants to start a conversation with the union about changing teacher pay because the pool of available teachers has declined.
Springfield Superintendent Joseph P. Burke , whose merit pay plan emerged after more than a year of contentious negotiations, said legislative support -- or a pot of incentive money -- would make it easier for superintendents to attract math and science teachers.
"It would seem to me that the state would have a vested interest in taking a position, and not necessarily leaving it to the whims of the local negotiations," said Burke. "If this is an important issue at the state level, why not intervene and take a position on it?"
Outgoing state Education Commissioner David P. Driscoll , a former math teacher and school superintendent, praised the superintendents for raising the issue of teacher pay and said he supports performance-based pay.
"In the past, superintendents have been gun-shy about taking on some of these issues they know that are not popular," Driscoll said in a telephone interview. "This is a very good step."
Only charter schools now have the freedom to set teacher pay in Massachusetts because they are not subject to union rules, though it is unclear whether incentives are improving student achievement. At Smith Leadership Academy in Dorchester, teachers in all subjects can earn additional pay of up to $3,000 a year for meeting standards that include raising student achievement, teacher attendance, and fulfilling the school mission of fostering leadership.
School head Karmala Sherwood said the money helped focus teachers on results. Teachers who were disorganized or who had high failure rates received a small bonus or none, while stellar teachers claimed the full amount.
"Somewhere along the line you've got to be able to reward people for their hard work and effort," said Sherwood. "What I realized is the more I reward my staff, the more they're going to do for my kids."
Signe Pereira , a science teacher at the school, had a long conversation with Sherwood after she earned only a few hundred dollars of the bonus. Last year, an argument between students disrupted one of her classes, and in another a student tossed eggs for a science experiment out the window. Her lesson plans were not always challenging enough.
This year her lesson plans are more detailed and available weeks in advance. She is firmer with students, and, Sherwood said, a contender for the full $3,000.
"It's not the driving force," Pereira said of the bonus. "I want to do better."
Maria Sacchetti can be reached at msacchetti@globe.com. 