Differential Teacher Pay: Editors Dig It, But Will It Work?

The editorial pages of the Mitchell Daily Republic and that Sioux Falls paper voice their approval for Governor Rounds's proposal for differential teacher pay. Secondary math and science teachers hard to find? Pay 'em more, watch 'em beat a path to the schoolhouse door. Simple!

I've been turning the idea of differential pay over in my head since that really good question at the Madison school board candidate's forum in April. I remain torn between free-market pragmatism and the inherent, incalculable value of all teachers.

The resentment a differential pay scheme would cause among teachers is understandable. Our school boards, the state, and the education industry have created a certain set of certification and continuing education hoops that many teachers have dutifully jumped through to advance on the salary scale. Given my own experience with education courses, I will hazard a guess that the vast majority of K–12 teachers taking graduate education courses aren't doing so for the sheer love of learning; they're following the only path we make available to them for boosting their pay by their own efforts. If differential pay suddenly negates the investment other teachers have made in climbing the salary schedule, they'll be rightfully displeased. Wherever the extra money for differential pay would come from, schools still need to give current teachers a return on their investment in further education.

If differential pay is meant to respond to market forces, we must carefully structure the rules to make it truly responsive. Harrisburg Superintendent Jim Holbeck tells Terry Woster he would prefer the state set up the rules for differential pay rather than leaving local school boards to take the heat for deciding to pay the math teacher more than the P.E. teacher. But what happens when Pierre sets up rules, and then Harrisburg hits a streak where it has lots of good applicants for the science jobs but no qualified takers for the HS social studies positions? Local districts need to freedom to respond to the unique conditions of their labor markets. Maybe every district in the state will need the same incentives for exactly the same hard-to-hire areas, but the best differential pay program will give local districts the freedom (and responsibility) to use their resources to incentivize the positions they deem most urgent.

But holy cow—here's a brainstorm! Why not take the small-school route and hire all interdisciplinary teachers? At Montrose, I taught English and math. Why not have every teacher study up and teach classes outside their usual field? They could bring a refreshing outside perspective to each class, show the connections among all the different fields of learning, and all cash in on the differential pay! Everybody wins!

Update 12:05 CDT: See also PP's "education should work just like business" perspective.