ProComp, Professional Compensation System

By Eric Hübler

Denver Post Education Writer

The Denver school board and teachers' union have agreed on the final language of a proposal to base teachers' pay in part on student achievement, Denver Public Schools announced Tuesday.

The proposal - called the Professional Compensation System for Teachers, or ProComp - would overturn decades of paying teachers solely according to how long they have been in their jobs and how many graduate degrees and academic credits they hold.

The board is to vote on the plan Feb. 19, and members of the Denver Classroom Teachers Association will vote on it starting March 8. The results of the teachers' balloting will be announced on March 19.

Even if both parties approve the plan, one more ballot will be needed for it to take effect: Denver voters would have to approve a $25 million property tax hike to fund the new incentives for teachers.

November 2005 is the likeliest time for a public vote, DPS said.

The current system once was considered a reform because it forced school districts to pay women and nonwhites the same as white males.

But critics have long derided it as rewarding "seat time," arguing that it doesn't give teachers enough incentive to take on tough assignments.

The leaders of both the board and union encouraged their peers to vote yes.

"This system is good for the district and students in that it carefully and fairly links compensation with the district's goals of high expectations and increasing student achievement," board President Les Woodward said.

"We encourage teachers to vote for this system," union president Becky Wissink said. "It is good for the students of Denver because it will attract and retain the most effective teachers to schools where needs are greatest."

In recent weeks, Wissink had been noncommittal about the performance proposal. The union has been pressuring the school board to restore the elimination of an expected pay increase in the current school year.

The document that both sides agreed to consider would be valid through 2013, though the system was designed to last at least 50 years.

Current teachers would be allowed to opt in or out of the new system. After January 2006, all newly hired teachers would be in it.

They would be rewarded for improving student achievement, receiving successful professional evaluations, working in the most academically needy schools and improving their skills and knowledge.

Teachers' earnings would never be capped under the plan. To show teachers how much more they could earn, a team of district and union representatives put together a salary calculator on a website, www.denverteachercompensation.org.