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House panel approves merit-pay bill

lesliepostal on April, 5 2010 8:23 PM

After nearly 8 hours of debate and discussion, the House education policy council voted tonight to approve the merit-pay bill that has been hotly debated for weeks.

The vote was 12 to 5 for a bill that would tie teacher raises to student performance as measured by standardized tests.

Republicans and other advocates said the bill would reward good teachers and get rid of an unfair system that paid teachers only for their years of service, not their successes in the classroom.

“I see this as a way for our profession to get the respect so you can be paid fairly,” said Rep. Marti Coley, R-Marianna, a former high school teacher and current community college instructor.

But Coley acknowledged a performance-pay system was scary, too. “Are there parts of this that make me nervous? Absolutely.”

Democrats and opponents of the bill said it was punitive and would blame teachers for factors outside of their control, such as student absenteeism and behavior problems. They also worried it relied too much on tests — many not yet developed.

“There’s a lot to be determined,” said Rep. Bill Heller, D-St. Petersburg.

The bill is expected to get a vote in the full House on Thursday. Its Senate companion has already been approved.