How Iowa schools could rethink teacher pay, shore up school budgets

Iowa school leaders have greater flexibility and authority to determine teacher pay under a new law that vastly reduced union negotiating power.

That could upend the traditional approach used to set teacher salaries, which some say "overburdens" their districts' finances.

How to change teacher salary schedules was discussed Thursday at the Iowa Association of School Boards' annual convention, which draws about 1,200 education leaders from across the state.

The focus was largely on balancing district budgets by matching teacher raises with yearly increases in state funding.

But some also discussed other forms of teacher pay, such as bonuses for hard-to-fill jobs, pay for tougher assignments and incentives for performance.

"It's a nice thing to offer," said State Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Marion, of rewarding top teachers financially. "To say, ‘Hey, we do think you’re a rock star and we do want to reward you.'"

Iowa law requires districts to negotiate with teachers unions over base salary, but outlaws bargaining for additional pay. Superintendents and school boards now have great discretion over staff pay.

That's immense freedom — and responsibility, Linn-Mar Superintendent Quintin Shepherd said to about 200 school leaders during a conference session.

"Let's not do anything rash or without serious thought," said Shepherd. "We're not going to make any of these decisions lightly, because every single employee who is in our care matters."

Shepherd discussed a non-traditional pay model he developed while working as a superintendent just outside of Chicago. The approach helped him shore up the Skokie School District's budget and get it off the state's financial "watch" list, he said.

"We were in pretty bad shape," Shepherd told the Register. "We had laid off a number of teachers and cut programs, and put this in place mostly to balance revenues and expenditures.

"It took a few years, but we were able to get back on financial solid footing."

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Shepherd warned Iowa school leaders that the pay model he used is not appropriate for every district because it does not provide employees with the same "stability" of a traditional salary schedule.

It's not being used by Linn-Mar Schools, the 7,300-student district Shepherd now leads just outside Cedar Rapids, for example.

"What teachers have to give up is the stability they've known for years and years and years," he told school leaders. "If stability is what you need in your district right now, don't do this."

Salary schedules typically list a matrix-like chart of pay based on the number of years worked and the number of credits earned toward advanced degrees, which would be eliminated under this approach.

Instead, teacher raises would be based on a percentage of their current salary and their educational attainment, with higher percentages given to teachers with graduate credits or degrees.

It would also allow districts to base raises on how much state funding is available, instead of negotiating wages before state funding is set, Shepherd said.

During tough financial times, districts would have the flexibility to lower pay raises, potentially staving off program cuts or staff layoffs.

"When times are good, everyone celebrates together, and when times are bad everyone struggles together," Shepherd told the Register.

It's unclear how many districts will change their approach to teacher pay, or when those changes could occur.

A recent Register analysis found that the majority of school districts will negotiate contracts with teachers under the new rules by the 2018-19 school year. The rest will follow in subsequent years.

About 10 district leaders have so far expressed interest to Shepherd about implementing aspects of the model, he said.

That's a sliver of Iowa's 333 districts, but a sign that school leaders are starting to shift their thinking about teacher pay following a Republican-led overhaul of Iowa's collective bargaining law.

"It’s a huge change," said Craig Ambrose, school board president for Albia Schools, a 1,200-student district about 60 miles southeast of Des Moines. The district is not currently looking at changing its schedule, he said.

"How do you get people to understand, to agree and to trust that we can do something different that makes education for our kids successful, and makes education for our teachers successful?" said Ambrose. "It’s a hard question."

How could it work?

Here's a simplified example of how a new approach to teacher pay could work in Iowa. It’s one of multiple ways being considered by school districts.

The approach outlined below was presented Thursday at the Iowa Association of School Boards' annual convention. Actual figures and amounts would vary.

The idea is to set raises based on yearly increases to state funding. If a district received $100,000 in new state money, teacher raises could reflect the amount the district received by “working backwards” to set a percentage increase.

Different teachers could receive different percentage increases based on credits earned toward advanced degrees, a way to continue to reward and incentivize teachers to improve their skills through graduate education.

For example, a teacher with a bachelor's degree might earn a 1 percent raise while one with a master's degree earns a 2 percent raise. If more state money is available, that could rise to 2 and 3 percent.

Every teacher could still receive a raise, even those that have currently "maxed out" on the traditional salary schedule, as raises would no longer be based on years worked.

For example, a teacher who now earns $40,000 that receives a 2 percent raise could earn an additional $800 a year, while a teacher who now earns $80,000 could earn $1,600 more.

Districts leaders who want to set aside money for bonuses or merit pay could do that before determining the total amount available for teacher raises.

For example, if the district received $100,000 in state funding, they might keep back $10,000 that's divided among certain teachers and given as retention bonuses for hard-to-fill positions, or performance incentives to reward top talent.

Such approaches could be part of a new pay model, but are not required.