The first question we should ask when making education policy is how does the policy impact the educational outcome for children.  When it comes to teacher compensation, we should ask how paying all teachers the same impacts student achievement.

This recent Indianapolis Star editorial argues that we should change the way we pay teachers. We now have a system the basically pays all teachers the same, regardless of educational outcomes. The payoff for the adults seems to be the security and benefits of a union protected job. The benefits for the kids?  Not sure.

Every time there are budget constraints the call comes out that teachers are going to lose jobs. Taxpayers are now aware that the first on the chopping block are newer teachers at the expense of protecting teachers who have been around longer, regardless of other factors.

Forgetting for a moment that you might lose some of your best and most enthusiastic teachers, who might have some fresh ideas on how to educate kids, does it seem fair that the only measure that determines whether or not you lose your job is how long you have had your job?

Wouldn’t our students be better off if they had access to the best teachers, regardless of how long someone has been teaching? And wouldn’t a system that rewarded the best teachers more than the average teacher lead to better educational outcomes for students?

Simply paying teachers more is not going to solve every problem in our education system.  And certainly all stakeholders in education -from administrators, teachers, parents and students – need to understand what is expected of them and be held accountable to fulfill their part of the deal.  But that said, what is the harm in rewarding our best teachers differently than teachers who do an average job?

In the ongoing education debate, it seems that “more money” is often the reflexive answer when the question is “how do we improve educational outcomes for kids.”

But since education spending has gone up repeatedly over the years, yet outcomes seem to be stagnant, can money really be the answer?

The State of Indiana spends about half of its budget on K-12 education.  Over the last 10 years education spending has increased from $4.5 billion a year to about $6.5 billion a year.  Even if that continued growth in dollars was desireable and proven to make a difference, in this current economic environment, is it reasonable to think that the State can continue its history of ever increasing education budgets?

Many states have gutted education during the economic recession.  Because of strong fiscal management, Indiana on the other hand cut $300 million, and while that is a lot of money, it is only a small percentage of the overall spending on education.  Luckily, the state seems confident that further cuts will not be needed to get to the end of the fiscal year.   But what of next year, and the years after?

About a year ago, Governor Daniels wrote in the Wall Street Journal that he suspected that   ”What we are being hit by isn’t a tropical storm that will come and go, with sunshine soon to follow. It’s much more likely that we’re facing a near permanent reduction in state tax revenues that will require us to reduce the size and scope of our state governments. And the time to prepare for this new reality is already at hand.”

Indiana has a proud history of funding education.  But these are tough times and taxpayers deserve to know they are getting a good return on investment.  It is time for us to reward the best teachers, and focus our education dollars in the classroom.  It is time for school districts to focus on their primary task – educating kids – and get rid of task that can be done more cost effectively by others.

“(A)s we confront an uncertain and rapidly changing American economy, we must accept that more money is not the answer to the problems that challenge Indiana’s schools,” Bennett said.

Our state’s leaders owe it to taxpayers to spend their money wisely, and they owe it to children to find creative ways to educate them.

“We are putting students first because ‘students first’ is the right thing to do. And by having the courage to do what is right – instead of what might be safe or polite or popular – we are opening doors to educational opportunity for each and every one of our children.”

So said Dr. Tony Bennett, Superintendent of Indiana Public Schools, during his first State of Education address.  It’s a sentiment that is long overdue.  Let’s hope that all the adults who are part of the education debate agree and live up to the idea that all decisions about education should be made by looking through the prism of how does a policy decision or action impact kids.

To that point, Dr. Bennett said he will fight to “make student learning the primary consideration for teacher promotion and recognition.” Currently, how long a teacher has taught and the degrees they hold are the main criteria for how a teacher is rewarded.

This would be a change in worldview for many, but a much needed one.  And it would flow nicely with Dr. Bennett’s growth plan, which would evaluate whether students are learning by measuring their academic growth in one year.

Tony Bennett is an aggressvie leader and he ended his address with this; ”It’s going to take bold proposals to transform educator accountability. Make no mistake, ladies and gentlemen, small changes won’t cut it, and we’re not here to make small changes.”

If Indiana is going to continue to differentiate itself from other states, we must continue to balance budgets and let private sector jobs be created.  But that will only allow us to go so far as a state.  If you care about the future, you must join the fight to make Indiana a place where education is truly valued, where every child has a chance to succeed, and where stong educators are rewarded.

In Tony Bennett, we have someone to lead that fight.  In our House candidates, we also have people who want to engage in that fight.  Go to our candidates page and find one to support.

In most professions, the best employees are generally  paid more than average employees.  But in education, that is not the case.  Why?  Don’t you want to be paid more in your job than a co-worker who is not as productive?

Public school teachers work under a collective bargaining agreement that locks in salaries for teachers based on tenure.  That is, the longer you work, the higher your salary, regardless of other factors. In 2008, average teacher salary in Indiana was $48,508 according to the National Education Association, or about $32 per hour.

Is longevity a fair or prudent way to compensate teachers?  Each spring when local school districts wrestle with budgets and dire warnings are made about firing teachers (many of whom are ultimately brought back), the first on the chopping block are the newest teachers.  It has been highlighted recently in the Indy Star that some of the best and brightest, but also newest, teachers in Indianapolis Public Schools were going to be let go, preserving jobs for longer serving teachers who may not have been as effective in the classroom.

That seems like a crazy way to run any organization, but especially one that is responsible for the education of 90% of students in Indiana, and thus ultimately should be accountable to the taxpayers of this state.

Certainly money is not the only motivator.  Teaching is a calling for many, and more money alone would not automatically make someone a better teacher.  But its human nature to want be rewarded for doing a good job, and it seems any compensation system should consider some measure of performance.

As Indiana continues on its journey of reform and change, perhaps the time has come to have a real discussion about how we as a community want our educators compensated. Shouldn’t the best be paid more?