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Gilbert Schools lawsuit leads to state incentive pay program being discontinued
Career Ladder is under consideration to be discontinued. Photo by Ciera Thompson
Written by Andrea Lavalette - Staff Writer
The state legislation is considering discontinuing Career Ladder, a state performance-pay program that gives teachers in 28 districts in Arizona the option to earn higher salary using a performance-based compensation plan that increases academic achievements. Career Ladder takes teachers that are more experienced in the teaching field, and increase their salary to encourage them to keep teaching.
In 2007, Gilbert Public Schools sued the state claiming the program’s unconstitutionality, as it was not available to all districts. Clyde Dangerfield of GPS stated that the intention was to be able to participate, not kill the program. Judge Dean Fink, Maricopa County Superior Court, stated last February that Career Ladder was unconstitutional because it was not allowed in all of the state’s districts. “[The court] may decide that the program is successful enough to merit its extension to every district in the state. It may decide that the benefit is not worth the cost and terminate the program,” said Fink.
Kirk Hinsey, a teacher at Powell Junior High is one of the thousands of teachers that participate in the Career Ladder program. Hinsey is also president of the Mesa Education Association. He worries that teachers will have financial crisis if the program is removed. According to Gilbert representative Laurin Hendrix, she is focused on tightening the budget to offset a $3.5 billion deficit for the next fiscal year.
If GPS joined the Career Ladder, the expansion would cost $175 million a year. Due to the current teacher and budget cuts, the district would clearly not be able to afford the additional costs.
Career Ladder would help in many ways, however, Arizona’s superintendent of education, Tom Horne, states that “Schools would not do as well academically”, without it.
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