A Plan to Start With

Apparently, Kevin Maxwell and the Board of Education had a moment of clarity on the issue of school system employee pay:

High-level school administrators who do an outstanding job could get as much as a 15 percent raise under a new plan adopted by the county Board of Education.

The "pay-for-performance" plan approved Wednesday replaces longevity increases given to 55 employees.

Nonunion employees still would get annual cost-of-living increases, but raises would be tied to their performance evaluations.

Superintendent Kevin M. Maxwell said the new system will promote greater accountability for senior staff.

"I want to thank the board for having the courage to move away from the traditional system of pay increases simply for longevity to a system of accountability where those who are making the greatest contributions to the success of our children are recognized for the efforts they make," he said in a statement.

And this is a good thing. We should be paying our school system administrators and teachers based on their performance, and not just standard blanket raises negotiated by TAAAC. Hopefully, this will actually encouraged better performances by administrators.

But there is one bump in the road with this plan:

The new plan takes effect July 1. Employees who earn a "satisfactory" level of performance would get 1 to 5 percent raises. An "exceptional" performance would merit a 6 to 10 percent raise, while outstanding performers would get raises of 11 to 15 percent.

Under the new plan, Dr. Maxwell also can award performance bonuses for stellar work.

Many administrators earn $100,000 or more. A 15 percent raise for a $100,000 earner would give the employees a $15,000 pay bump.

Those amounts seem a little more than excessive for a one year pay hike. A more realistic goal would have been capping all potential raises to a maximum of 8 percent.

Regardless, this is a step in the right direction.