Salary comparability: Coming to an ESEA bill near you?
Blog by Alyson Klein/Education Week
Rep. Chaka Fattah, D-Pa., who has made school finance a signature issue during his time in Congress, thinks that salary comparability is an idea who is time has come. And he says he has support from leaders on the House Education and Labor Committee, to include it the upcoming reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
What exactly is salary comparability? Well, in a nutshell, it's a way of assuring that Title I schools with a large number of newer, lower-salaried teachers get their fair share of federal funding. Right now, districts don't have to count teachers' actual salaries in doling out local funds equally, which among the preconditions for tapping Title I funds for disadvantaged students. Districts just have to make sure all teachers are on the same pay scale. Salary comparability advocates say that effectively penalizes high-poverty schools with lots of young, novice teachers. (more…)