Districts gain more say over STAR Program

Source: Miami Herald

TALLAHASSEE -- Calling it a big mess that needed to be cleaned up, Florida lawmakers on Thursday repealed a controversial merit pay plan for public school teachers and replaced it with a program that gives more power to local school boards.

The new merit pay program still requires districts to evaluate teachers based on how their students fare on tests, but it also says that another part of the evaluation must be based on how principals rate teachers at each school. Districts decide how many teachers will get the bonuses, which can range between five and 10 percent of their annual salary.

Miami-Dade officials said they plan to look at the new law and see whether they can revamp their merit pay plan, which has already been approved by the state Board of Education. Broward school officials and union leaders say they will meet to see if they can come up with a new plan in time for the May 1 deadline that allows the district to still receive money this