The District’s 4,400 teachers received an average of $10,227 in back pay from their new union contract, with promises of $130,000 salaries for top educators, just days before the Tuesday primary election in which education is a major issue.
Still, political analysts say the $450 million in back pay won’t alter the outcome of the race, despite Mayor Adrian Fenty’s best efforts.
“At this point in the race, if you’re behind, you throw the kitchen sink at it,” said political consultant Chuck Thies. “Is it going to have an enormous statistical impact? I don’t think so.”
Signed on June 2, the new contract offers three years of retroactive raises, and a landmark pay-for-performance plan for teachers who are rated “highly effective” in their evaluations. It also enabled Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee to fire 241 teachers evaluated as ineffective this summer, creating friction with the 4,000-member teachers union and many voters.
Rhee’s efforts to improve D.C. public schools have become a major issue in the primary, in which Fenty — who hired the chancellor — is trailing Council Chairman Vincent Gray by seven points in the latest Clarus poll. Rhee’s sweeping reforms have polarized the voting base, with many Fenty supporters saying they will vote for him so that she can continue her initiatives, while others say they will vote against Fenty because of Rhee.
But Thies said the gap between Fenty and Gray would be much bigger is Rhee weren’t in the picture.
“If Michelle Rhee had been abducted by aliens, disappeared in July, Fenty would be losing this race by 20, 25 points,” Thies said.
D.C. Public Schools spokesman Fred Lewis said the pay announcement was linked to the beginning of the school year, not the election. “We wanted to tie this to their first paycheck so they can start the year,” Lewis said.
Teachers received their first paychecks Sept. 10. Lewis said that it’s typical for checks to arrive three to four weeks into the school year; last year’s came Sept. 11.
The average teacher’s salary under the new contract is $74,400, higher than all surrounding counties but Montgomery, where teachers are paid an average $76,500.
But D.C. teachers can earn up to $130,000 under the new contract, while Montgomery teachers with master’s degrees and 25 years of experience max out at $103,634.
Local political analyst Terry Lynch called the timing “unfortunate” because “it creates an appearance.” Still, “Anybody who regards education as the issue they’re voting on, they’ve already decided on a candidate,” he said.
