A proposal to stop requiring schools to have a traditional pay schedule for teachers is back on the table for state legislators.
The House Education Committee added that change today into a House Bill 343 — a bill that rounds up several small issues into one package. See the new amendments to HB343 by clicking here.
Committee chairman Gerald Stebelton, a Lancaster Republican, said the longstanding teacher pay scales that increase pay based on years of experience and degrees earned by a teacher, should no longer be required by the state. He said he wants to allow districts to have a merit pay system, or any other plan, if they choose.
A similar change had passed the Ohio House as part of the 2013 state budget bill, but was removed in the Senate.
“Right now, if two teachers who start on the same day and one is a terrible teacher and one’s a really good teacher, they’re still lockstep with their pay,” Stebelton said. “It’s an easy decision for schools to do the lockstep thing, but it’s not in the best interest of the kids.”
He said he wants school boards to be able to pay teachers more if they do a better job in the classroom.
Stebelton said the committee will likely vote on the bill at its Monday morning meeting, which would send it to the full House.
Both of the state’s teachers unions, the Ohio Federation of Teachers (OFT) and the Ohio Education Association (OEA), say they back the smaller changes in HB 343 but will oppose this change.
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