Senate Readies Teacher Merit Pay Bill

The Florida Senate is poised to vote on a bill later this week that would tie teacher pay to student performance, following an extensive debate on the Senate floor Wednesday over the bill's funding and the nature of teacher contracts.

Senate Bill 736 would offer teachers one-year contracts, but base their salaries in part on data from three years of student test scores. Sen. Bill Montford, D-Tallahassee, offered an amendment that would have offered teachers considered "effective" or "highly effective" a maximum three-year contract, but the amendment was voted down by Republicans.

Sen. Stephen Wise, R-Jacksonville, who is sponsoring the bill, was also questioned by legislators over how the state plans to fund raises included in the bill for teachers who receive exemplary evaluations. Wise said the bill will be funded by current state dollars, but other senators considered that an unfunded mandate for school districts.

"We're asking the local school districts to do more with less that we're giving them," said Sen. Paula Dockery, R-Lakeland.