Employee association plans “class-action” grievance against Dallas ISD evaluation system
The National Education Association-Dallas is planning to file a “class-action” grievance with Dallas ISD over its new teacher evaluation system.
The evaluation system, called the Teacher Excellence Initiative (TEI), bases teacher pay on performance, student surveys and test scores. The old system mainly tied teacher pay to tenure.
Under TEI, teachers receive points for each evaluation area that is used to determine their “effectiveness level.” Salaries for the nine different levels can range from $50,000 for new teachers to $90,000 for “master” teachers. The top five levels are for teachers who go through a “Distinguished Teacher Review.”
Angela Davis, president of NEA-Dallas, called the new system “unfair.” She said that some teachers who did well didn’t get raises because they were already at the salary cap for their assigned level.
Davis said that some teachers don’t know exactly how they were measured, and in some cases the principals that evaluated them have left the district. This school year, 1 in 3 campuses have new principals.
“It’s just not right,” Davis said.
Davis said the deadline to join her group’s grievance is 5 p.m. Thursday. She said that teachers who have already filed individual grievances can still have their grievance included. She added that if the matter can’t be settled at the district level, her group will consider other action.
Teachers found out their effectiveness level on Sept. 18 and the complaints have run the gamut. Some teachers have complained that while they did well on their evaluation, they won’t get raises because they are at the salary cap for their assigned level.
Other concerns center on teachers with several years of experience, who made in the $47,000 range last school year. They now earn around the same amount as beginning teachers, who received this year’s new starting salary of $50,000. The district capped raises at $5,000.
The evaluation system was briefly discussed at last week’s board meeting. A couple of trustees raised questions to interim Superintendent Michael Hinojosa about teachers who did well but didn’t get raises.
“Dr. Hinojosa that needs to be cleaned up, because that is not correct,” trustee Joyce Foreman said. “We have employees who will not receive an increase who did not have unsatisfactory performance.”
Trustee Dan Micciche asked Hinojosa if the district was considering making adjustments in the plan for teachers considered “distinguished” who did not get a raise because they are already above their compensation level.
Hinojosa said there were preliminary discussions but there are no specific recommendations at this time. He said that the district has to be careful with its budget Employee association plans “class-action” grievance against Dallas ISD evaluation system | | Dallas Morning News: