Christie administration: Teacher merit pay bill will be introduced for NJ schools
THE RECORD
STAFF WRITER
The Christie administration on Wednesday said it will introduce a measure to bring merit pay, which ties teacher evaluations to student performance, to New Jersey’s public schools.
Education Commissioner Bret Schundler said he hoped a merit pay bill could pass the legislature by June 1 so that it would bolster the state’s application for more than $200 million in federal education dollars available through the Race to the Top program.
“If we do, it will make ours an extremely competitive grant submission,” said Schundler, after speaking at a conference in Princeton. The commissioner said merit pay could help the state win the money.
The proposal is sure to get push-back in the legislature and from the state’s powerful teachers union, which has opposed merit pay measures. Teachers now get contracted raises regardless of student scores on
Education Commissioner Bret Schundler said he hoped a merit pay bill could pass the legislature by June 1 so that it would bolster the state’s application for more than $200 million in federal education dollars available through the Race to the Top program.
“If we do, it will make ours an extremely competitive grant submission,” said Schundler, after speaking at a conference in Princeton. The commissioner said merit pay could help the state win the money.
The proposal is sure to get push-back in the legislature and from the state’s powerful teachers union, which has opposed merit pay measures. Teachers now get contracted raises regardless of student scores on