Educators would get 20 percent pay raise
D.C. Public Schools teachers would receive a 20 percent raise over five years and a shot at thousands of dollars more as part of a new deal struck between Chancellor Michelle Rhee and the Washington Teachers’ Union, according to sources familiar with the negotiations. Under the agreement, teachers could earn extra money for good evaluations, for working at the poorest schools and for other contributions.
Rhee declined to confirm details leaked to the Washington Examiner on Tuesday afternoon. An official announcement will be made Wednesday to lay out the precise terms of the proposed contract.
Bitter wrangling over a teachers contract began soon after Rhee was handed control of the schools in June 2007. Her past proposals, including a two-tier pay system to reward teachers willing to forgo tenure, were criticized by many in the union as lacking adequate job protections.
Several years of the 20 percent raise would be realized in next fall’s paycheck to make up for three years without a renewed contract and without a raise. The Consumer Price Index, a measure of inflation, has increased by about 8.5 percent since 2006.
A D.C. Public Schools teacher who has earned $60,000 annually since fall 2007 likely would earn closer to $67,000 upon contract approval and nearly $73,000 by 2012.
The contract, if approved by a vote from teachers, would be funded partly with about $65 million in private donations from several foundations, according to sources. It is not clear how much of that would go toward merit increases, and how much, if any, would go toward pay raises.
The sides did not establish a formula for how the performance pay program would work — a condition recommended by American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten, according to sources. Weingarten, who has been a key player in the negotiations, has criticized incentive plans that rely on private dollars. But DCPS officials charged with plotting incentive pay plans have expressed a desire to “just blow the door open” on the amount of money up for grabs.
Sources within the District’s Office of the Chief Financial Officer said that worries persist over the city’s ability to fund the initiatives should private funders flee.
Washington Teachers’ Union Vice President Nathan Saunders, locked in a battle for leadership with President George Parker, called news of the raises “very deceptive.”
“The most important variables are not addressed,” Saunders said. “Oftentimes, these foundations establish this type of contractual relationships when they have good relationships with the leaders. But if those leaders leave, the money is no longer committed.”
Parker called a confidential executive board meeting for Wednesday night with one item on the agenda: “Contract-related matters.”
