Bush Bonuses Go To Already Well-Paid Teachers

[pecwae]

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The first federal bonuses to reward teachers who raise student test scores have gone to four of Ohio's biggest, poorest and most academically challenged districts - where teacher pay is already well above the state average.

The bonuses, totaling $20 million over five years, were announced Monday, just two weeks before the challenging election for Republicans. They were the first of 16 state grants that the Bush administration is doling out this year, which will total $42 million. South Carolina also is to receive grants but the other states that will benefit haven't been announced.

The government hopes the money will help counter what Education Secretary Margaret Spellings called a "dirty little secret" in American education, that the most experienced teachers often teach in the least challenging classrooms.

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The National Education Association said Monday that grants are unnecessary and duplicate existing programs. The union called on the government to put money into underfunded programs created by Bush's No Child Left Behind initiative.

www.wral.com/education/10145957/detail.html

[MrCoffee]

1. 75% of respondents voted that the timing of the bonuses is suspicious