Steamboat Pilot & Today

Steamboat Springs — A committee assembled to revamp the Steamboat Springs School District's pay-for-performance bonus system will postpone its work until the fall.

At its Wednesday meeting, the Pay for Performance Subcommittee agreed to step away from the issue until September, citing ideological differences and the need for renewed energy and effort.

"It needs to be stated that these differences are not insurmountable and the committee feels that a plan can be completed this fall," statement released Thursday by the committee read.

Mike Smith, Steamboat Springs Education Association president and a member of the committee, didn't rule out the possibility a new pay-for-performance plan could be funded for the 2003-04 school year.

"I think it's still possible we can get something in place, and hopefully the (Education) Fund Board would recognize its importance and fund it through its general reserve," Smith said. "My hope would be that it would be funded for (the 2003-04 school year)."

Pay for performance was implemented in the 1999-2000 school year as a way to measure student performance, hold the district accountable for student achievement and reward hard-working teachers.

The current system rewards teachers and staff school-wide for student performance on Colorado Student Assessment Program standardized tests.

Bonuses also are awarded based on how well schools teach their students the virtues and success and self-understanding goals defined by School Board policy.

However, the system has been criticized recently, particularly by teachers who feel there need to be more tools besides CSAP tests to evaluate student performance.

Because of the system's problems, the Educational Excellence Commission, an arm of the Fund Board, voted against recommending funding pay for performance for the 2003-04 school year.

Fund Board revenue pays for the bonus system. An estimated $400,000 is needed to fully fund pay for performance next year.

Smith, on behalf of district teachers, spearheaded the effort to rework the bonus compensation system by assembling a committee of representatives from the school district, Education Fund Board, Educational Excellence Commission, School Board and District Accountability Committee.

The committee created a framework for a revised concept tentatively called the Star Award Proposal. But committee members disagreed on how much the system should focus on individual accomplishments versus school accomplishments.

In Thursday's statement, the committee said it intends to have a facilitator assist it "in finding common ground within our differences."