Part time job. Pay 'em part time wages--------Automatic step raises, generous paid leave policies drive up costs and hurt academics in Utah schools

Automatic step raises, generous paid leave policies drive up costs and hurt academics in Utah schools - EAGnews.org powered by Education Action Group Foundation, Inc.:

A majority of public school districts around the nation have union contracts calling for automatic, annual “step raises” for nearly every teacher, regardless of their performance or effectiveness in the classroom.

That means teachers have little or no incentive to improve their skills and become more effective instructors, because they know their salaries will increase regardless of their performance.

That has been the case in several Utah school districts for years, although a new state law is expected to bring a degree of accountability into the teacher compensation system.

Many districts around the nation also have overly generous sick and personal day policies, which tend to encourage rampant teacher absenteeism, high substitute teacher costs, and constant learning interruptions for students.

Several school districts in Utah are plagued with such policies, despite the state’s right-to-work laws that would seemingly cause public employee unions to be less powerful and less able to dictate such policies.

The most outrageous example is the Nebo school district union contract, which showers teachers with up to 120 paid sick days per year.