Teacher bonus pay favors wealthy districts

Educators in some of the state’s wealthiest school districts will receive the largest share of $40 million in performance pay the state made available this year for high-performing teachers, with urban school districts seeing much less.

Carmel Clay Schools and Zionsville Community Schools lead the state in the most performance money per teacher at $2,422 and $2,239 respectively, according to data released Wednesday by the Indiana Department of Education. Schools receive the bonuses based on ISTEP student test scores and graduation rates. Money is then doled out to teachers who earn high marks on their annual evaluations.

Comparatively, Indianapolis Public Schools will receive $128 per teacher, and Wayne Township Schools will see among the lowest payments at $42 per teacher. Some 37 school districts, including several Central Indiana charter schools, were shut out of the funding altogether. Those schools were eligible to receive the pay because their teacher evaluations meet state law, but their performance fell short.

Supporters of the money say its aim is to reward good teachers, but Democrats and the leader of the state’s largest teachers union blasted inequities in the amounts schools will receive.

Amid the large differences, House Speaker Brian Bosma, the chamber’s top Republican, said the state should review the pay. Carmel Clay Schools, along with the highest funding per teacher, also will receive the most funding overall at $2.4 million, with Hamilton Southeastern Schools close behind at $2.3 million. Among other Central Indiana school districts, IPS will receive $330,000, Pike Township $140,000 and Greenwood Community Schools $142,000.

“It seems that we do need to take a look at the distribution formula for those funds. The original concept was to recognize outstanding teachers, not just outstanding districts. So we’ll work it through and hopefully be able to make it equitable,” Bosma said.

House Democratic Leader Scott Pelath said performance pay does “nothing to incentivize great teaching.”

“What it does do is channel even more money to those school corporations that already get the largest slices of the financial pie,” said Pelath, a Michigan City Democrat whose local school district received none of the funding.

The way the state determines the pay is a “flawed system,” said Teresa Meredith, president of the Indiana State Teachers Association. Schools with the strongest resources and greatest supports fare well, she said, while teachers who work at schools with higher poverty get less — if anything.

“It does make you question what can be done to make this more fair,” Meredith said. “It’s really sad that there are teachers who are doing an incredible amount of work, and they are going to get nothing.”

The teachers union could find a key — and unexpected — supporter in their pursuit of changes.

On the campaign trail, Jennifer McCormick, the incoming Republican superintendent of public instruction, said she wanted lawmakers to review the pay, arguing the current strategy doesn’t provide an adequate incentive to attract and retain teachers.

Growing Indiana’s teaching ranks has become a hot-button issue as the state saw a two-year dive in first-time teaching licenses, though those numbers have started to recover. McCormick has said the state should allow schools to better compensate teachers based on their years of experience and advanced degrees.

Teachers at schools that will get performance pay are required to receive the money before February. Local school leaders determine the amount teachers receive, with teachers rated as highly-effective — the highest rating — required to get at least $1 more than those rated effective. For this year, lawmakers increased the funding to $40 million, up from $30 million last year.

The release of performance pay follows the state finalizing new A-F school ratings. The ratings that reflect performance during the 2015-16 school year dived. The number of schools receiving failing marks doubled, while the number of A-rated schools declined by more than 600. ISTEP scores also dropped across the state in all subjects during the last school year.

Call IndyStar reporter Chelsea Schneider at (317) 444-6077. Follow her on Twitter: @IndyStarChelsea.