Fewer HISD teachers qualify for bonuses
Posted on Wednesday, January 25th, 2012 at 2:31 amFewer HISD teachers qualify for bonuses
Houston Chronicle
Copyright 2012 Houston Chronicle. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Published 09:56 p.m., Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Copyright 2012 Houston Chronicle. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Published 09:56 p.m., Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Teachers and staff in the Houston Independent School District are receiving $35 million in performance bonuses Wednesday – a significant payout but a deliberately smaller one than last year.
HISD Superintendent Terry Grier and the school board agreed to toughen the criteria in the five-year-old bonus system in a dual attempt to make the awards more selective and to cut costs amid a state funding shortfall.
For the first time, employees were ineligible for the money if they were absent more than 10 days, were placed on an improvement plan by their principal or if their students essentially regressed.
Gayle Fallon, the president of the Houston Federation of Teachers, who consistently has opposed the bonus system, said teachers were confused and upset by the stricter eligibility requirements.
The 23 administrators who supervise principals, called school improvement officers, earned more than $8,800 each.