Teacher pay scale remaining merit-based
By Lindsay Tice
Staff Writer

POLAND – A year after Poland Regional High School formed a conventional union, members have agreed to keep their very unconventional pay scale.

Union members have OK’d a contract with a merit-based pay system, an unusual and complex plan that gives raises only to teachers whose performance is up to par.

Traditionally, American teachers receive automatic yearly pay raises based on their education and years of experience.

The president of the state’s largest teachers’ union believes Poland Regional is the only school in the state to buck the traditional system in favor of the controversial merit-based pay.

“We don’t encourage the system,” said Rob Walker, president of the Maine Education Association. “But some people liked it and rather than create a division at Poland Regional High School, we decided to find a way to support that.”

When the school formed four and a half years ago, administrators decided to try a pay system that rewarded teachers for their performance in the classroom, not for their years of experience.

Two years ago that plan evolved into a merit-based pay system with 15 salary steps. It’s the same plan that union members agreed to this winter when they voted on their three-year contract.

Under the system, teachers can only get a raise if they apply for one. In their application, they must agree to meet certain goals, such as creating lessons and assessments that correspond to different learning styles. At the end of the year, teachers must create a portfolio of their work.

Teachers are observed by a team of colleagues and an administrator. That team decides whether the applicant has met the goals and will receive a raise.

At Poland, salaries range from nearly $24,800 to more than $51,500. Each step up means a 5-percent raise.

When the system was introduced, Walker said, the School Committee underestimated the money it would need to pay out in raises. Teachers ended up getting less money than they were promised.

To ensure that teachers get the raises they’ve earned without breaking the budget, union members agreed to limit their pay increases. Teachers with bachelor’s degrees can only go up 20 percent, or four steps, in four years. Teachers with advanced degrees can go up 25 percent, or five steps, in four years.

The merit-based system has proven controversial nationwide. Some experts believe it is the best way to reward good teachers and to force veterans to keep up to date in their fields. Others say the system is too subjective.

At the Maine Education Association, which oversees the Poland Regional High School Education Association, Walker said he’s seen merit-based systems come and go over the past two decades. He’s never seen one last more than several years.

“Traditional systems are more iron-clad. They’re less subject to the whims of whoever is in power,” he said.

Mike Carter, president of the high school’s union, said some members have been concerned that the system will take too much time, will lack continuity and will affect colleague relationships, since a team of teachers decides whether another teacher will get a raise.

But so far, it seems to be working.

Carter estimated that more than 50 teachers applied for and won raises last year. Another 17 either didn’t apply for a raise or didn’t meet the goals required to get one.

“It forces teachers to constantly examine their practices,” Carter said. “It does a better job of creating a learning community.”

ltice@sunjournal.com

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