New law creates a virtual 'free market' for teachers

Now they will get full credit for their years of service, and they can more easily switch from district to district.

By STEPHEN HEGARTY

© St. Petersburg Times, published May 17, 2001

TAMPA -- Gov. Jeb Bush on Wednesday signed into law a bill that would give school districts more options for hiring teachers and give teachers more options for finding jobs.

Lt. Gov. Frank Brogan said the law would "truly change the future of education in the state of Florida."

State Sen. Don Sullivan of Largo said it would "create a free market for teachers."

Maybe so, but so far school districts don't really know what the new law will do.

Of particular concern is one feature requiring that school districts give teachers they hire full credit for years of experience.

As things stand now, a newly hired teacher with 20 years' experience in another district would be paid as if she had only seven years of experience. Because of cost considerations, districts have artificial limits on the years of experience a teacher can take from one county to another.

The new law changes all that.

It will encourage out-of-state teachers to come to Florida. Education Commissioner Charlie Crist believes it also will encourage retired teachers to return to the classroom, getting full credit for all of their experience.

But it also is expected to result in movement within the state, from one school district to another. Why? Because the law is not retroactive. It only applies to new hires and to be a new hire, teachers have to go somewhere else.

"What about teachers who are already here?" said Pinellas Superintendent Howard Hinesley. "We've got thousands of teachers who have more experience than the teacher next door who just got hired, but they're not paid as much (under the new law). A lot of teachers are going to be affected by this."

"If you're happy with your principal and you're happy with your school, a few bucks won't make any difference," said Yvonne Lyons, executive director of the Hillsborough Classroom Teachers Association. But Lyons acknowledged that in some cases the salary differences might be great enough to cause teachers to look around.

"We might have a lot of teachers driving across the bridge," Lyons said.

The numbers might make the drive worth their while.

For instance, if a teacher with 20 years' experience moved to Hillsborough County this year, she would have gotten credit for seven years and earn $31,408 a year. Under the new law, that teacher could now move to Pinellas County and get credit for all 20 years, and her annual salary would jump to $42,700.

It works the other way, too. If the teacher moved from Pinellas to Hillsborough, which has a slightly higher pay scale, she would earn $43,128.

Brogan, who attended the signing ceremony at Tampa's Mitchell Elementary School, said the law might trigger some movement for teachers. But he stressed the fairness issue.

"I don't think anybody can argue the fairness; if you've got 20 years of experience, you should get credit for it," Brogan said.

The law also would enable districts to hire part-time teachers under a new "part-time adjunct teaching certificate program."

Bush also signed a law Wednesday that would limit liability for teachers who are sued for something they did in their capacity as teachers.

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