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Schools

School district to submit teacher bonus plan

With a Dec. 31 deadline met, the district can work with the union on specifics.

By DONNA WINCHESTER
Published December 13, 2006

LARGO - Pinellas School Board members directed superintendent Clayton Wilcox on Tuesday to submit a proposal to the state that could bring the district $6.1-million in teacher bonuses.

The directive comes two weeks before a Dec. 31 deadline that all districts must meet for submitting "pay for performance" proposals to the Department of Education.

The funding would come from a new teacher bonus initiative called "Special Teachers Are Rewarded," or STAR. The teachers union began crafting the plan with help from the board in August.

The board's action will allow Wilcox to continue working with the union to submit a plan for DOE review and approval according to the time line established by the state, said Jade Moore, executive director of the Pinellas Classroom Teachers Association.

Districts that fail to submit plans before the Dec. 31 deadline risk losing funding from the state.

"Because the teachers haven't ratified the plan, it can't go forward," Moore said. "We're just continuing the process."

In other business, the board:

- Approved a calendar for the 2007-08 school year that will begin Aug. 21 and end June 3. Students will have three days off for Thanksgiving break. Winter holidays will begin Dec. 24 and end Jan. 4.

- Agreed to grant quality, or honors points, to 67 career technical education courses and to add course offerings in several areas, including agribusiness and natural resources, business technology education, language arts and social studies.

- Briefly discussed the present method of selecting valedictorians and salutatorians and agreed to take the topic up at a workshop.

[Last modified December 13, 2006, 05:51:40]