New contract would reward educators for research
Portland Press Herald, November 16, 2006

(excerpt) The three-year contract would reward teachers who take professional development courses or conduct independent research, Casasa said.

The proposal would also compress the number of pay raises based on years of experience. If approved by union members later this month, the new salary structure would take effect in September.

Under the new pay scale, the top teacher salary would rise from about $65,000 next year to around $78,000 and would no longer be reserved solely for those with a doctorate, said Joline Hart, the school department's human resources director.

Teachers would advance to a higher pay grade for every 225 hours of professional development work approved by school officials, Hart said.

The new contract calls for five merit-based pay categories and 10 yearly raises; the current scale has four merit grades and 31 yearly raises, Hart said.

A teacher at the lowest pay grade would have to perform 900 hours of approved work to reach the highest level, she said, though that would take at least 10 years.

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