Pay-Hike Plan for Teachers In D.C. Entails Probation

Washington Post Staff Writer Thursday, July 24, 2008; Page B01 D.C. teachers interested in the huge salary increases proposed by Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee would not only have to relinquish their seniority but also risk dismissal by spending a year on probation, according to details of the plan released yesterday. The tradeoff, part of one of two salary scenarios under discussion, could earn an instructor with five years of experience as much as $100,000 in base pay and bonuses. The structure would put the city's teachers in an elite class in a profession in which the national average salary is $47,600, according to the most recent survey conducted by the American Federation of Teachers. D.C. school officials said the leaps in pay would be subsidized partly by private foundations. The plan is the centerpiece of... [read full story]