AUSTIN — The state needs a dynamic way to boost teacher pay so Texas can recruit and retain the best educators.

But Texas leaders have fumbled on exactly what to do and how to get there.

On Wednesday, Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath once again pointed to Dallas as a model to follow, saying two key DISD efforts have turned around struggling schools by getting the most talented teachers to them — namely by paying them more.

Morath, a former Dallas ISD trustee, highlighted the Accelerating Campus Excellence program that gives stipends to teachers for working at the most struggling schools and the Teacher Excellence Initiative that gives raises based on student performance.

Science teacher Katie Benningfield said Dallas' Blanton Elementary benefited from both programs. Blanton used to be a mess, with kids roaming the halls and teachers lacking enough support to keep them on task so they could learn, she said.

But then DISD used TEI to find out who the best teachers were and gave them additional stipends through ACE to go to Blanton. That — along with additional counselors, extended school days, amped up tutoring and better training — transformed the Pleasant Grove school to a point where it was outperforming Highland Park's McCulloch Intermediate.

"Now, instead of running in the hallways, our students run to class," Benningfield told lawmakers. "I've witnessed students who were previously defiant turn into leaders in the classroom ... The greatest achievement is the positive impact on student lives."

But the two programs are pricey. DISD Superintendent Michael Hinojosa has told lawmakers before that, despite proven results, TEI and ACE are unsustainable unless schools get more state funding. Dallas is now looking to scale the programs back because of mounting costs.

Morath said Lubbock ISD used a similar program with success but also has budget constraints. It's important for lawmakers to invest state money on such turnaround efforts so schools can improve faster, Morath told the House Public Education Committee.

"They need additional support from the state to expand those programs," Morath said. "In this case, it would be like pouring gasoline on a very good fire."

Morath told the committee that if Texas were to invest in a similar program across the state, it would cost roughly $50 million to launch in the first two years. Then over the next 10 years, maybe $1 billion annually, he said.

Dallas' ACE program has been so successful that districts across the state have copied it, including Fort Worth.

FWISD Superintendent Kent Scribner told the committee that ACE was key to turning around long-struggling schools, including John T. White Elementary, which has been failing since the campus opened in 2011.

FWISD spends about $6 million a year to boost teacher pay at the ACE schools and provide additional resources. When new school ratings are released next week, he expects White Elementary to score high enough to earn maybe a "B," which will be the second-highest rating in the state's accountability system.

Such a program is a better use of the state's money than giving all teachers a $1,000 raise, he said.

"I would argue that that's the spray-and-pray approach," Scribner said. "We need to be much more targeted and much more strategic as we invest in our future."

State leaders have fumbled in recent efforts to boost teacher pay, disagreeing on how to do it. Gov. Greg Abbott wanted lawmakers to give teachers a $1,000 raise last year when he made their salaries one of the focuses of last summer's special session. Superintendents worried mandating a raise would strain already tight budgets, and lawmakers couldn't agree on a plan to pay for it.

Meanwhile teacher groups note that something has to be done about base pay overall because Texas lags about $6,000 behind the national average. Educators could make about 20 percent more if they went into another field in their expertise area, Texas AFT president Louis Malfaro said in a statement.

"It will take considerably higher base pay for teachers across the board if the state really aims to attract and keep the high-quality individuals our students require," Malfaro said.