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JEFFREY S. SOLOCHEKAs the superintendent's review comes up, the School Board considers tying a bonus to student performance.
BROOKSVILLE - Schools superintendent Wendy Tellone's contract comes up for review this month, as the School Board considers whether to renew her term for another year.
As they prepared to evaluate Tellone later this week, board members Monday sought some advice from Wayne Blanton, the longtime executive director of the Florida School Boards Association.
They asked for direction on, among other things, the concept of paying Tellone a bonus based on student performance or other standards. Superintendents in Hillsborough, Palm Beach and other counties have such language written into their contracts.
If the standards are reasonable and measurable, Blanton said, they can be done fairly. The board and Tellone would need a "good philosophical workshop" to set those goals, he said.
At the same time, he cautioned, the board must consider the ramifications of obligating itself to a potentially high bonus.
"Think about it in the world of political realism," Blanton said. "Be careful it's not so large that you damage relations with the entire staff."
Chairwoman Sandra Nicholson, who scheduled the meeting, said before it began that she considered the idea of performance pay a "double-edged sword."
On one hand, she said, nothing is more important than student achievement. If operations run smoothly but children are not learning, the entire district is not succeeding, she suggested.
On the other hand, the superintendent cannot control individual students, Nicholson said.
"We have students that don't see the value of an education until later in life, and sometimes not even then. And a lot of parents aren't pushing it," she said.
"So how can you hold an educator responsible?"
Other board members harbored similar reservations. At the same time, they did not dismiss the idea of performance pay.
Board member Jim Malcolm expressed discomfort with the notion of tying bonus pay to such items as FCAT scores and school grades from the state. He called the idea "quicksand."
"You know what happens to principals and then what happens to teachers," he said. "It becomes even more pressure than it is now."
Board member Gail David likened the idea to sales, where the manager's pay depends on the success of employees below.
"If the superintendent's pay is correlated to student performance in the schools, that actually puts too much pressure on the schools for the wrong reasons," she said.
She and to a lesser extent Malcolm hinted that they might be willing to offer bonuses if they are connected to other criteria or goals set by the board and superintendent jointly. An example might be to measure the district's progress and accomplishment on its strategic plan, they said.
For example, the superintendent might receive a 3 percent raise and up to 3 percent more, based on performance standards.
"I don't think people are going to have a problem with that," David said. "The justification would be, "We think you've done a good job and earned the following."'
Board member Robert Wiggins said he did not necessarily want to eliminate the concept of paying extra for student achievement, though. It should be part of the picture, but not all, he said.
"That's one of her duties, but she does other stuff," Wiggins said outside the session. "One-third to half could probably be tied to student achievement. It is the bottom line."
Board member John Druzbick, meanwhile, opposed the idea of giving Tellone one-time extra pay rather than a continuing raise.
"I don't know if I want to tie a bonus into salary if it is not going to affect her bottom line," he said.
Blanton said the board could look at other ways to improve Tellone's financial status, without giving a huge raise or bonus. Things such as tax-deferred annuities could be less politically charged, he said, adding that he was not making any recommendation.
He also noted that Tellone's salary and benefit package is below the state average.
Last December Tellone negotiated a $106,400 annual salary.
- Jeffrey S. Solochek can be reached at 352 754-6115 or solochek@sptimes.com