Hillsborough county schools hopeful for private grant money

November 5, 11:00 AMTampa Economic Policy ExaminerDarin Clark

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The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation set to teach states and teacher's unions a lesson in market-based economic incentives?

Hillsborough county school district is on a short list of potential schools to receive grant money from the Gates foundation. The grant money is part of an "experiment" to improve student and school performance by reforming teacher-pay incentives.  

Reporting in the St Petersburg Times, Tom Marshall quotes Bill Gates, in 2008, making the case for education reform. "We need to give all teachers the benefit of clear standards, sound curriculum, good training and top instructional tools. But if their students still keep falling behind, they're in the wrong line of work, and they need to get another job."

Hillsborough conducted its own internal evaluation study while applying for the Gates grant, and what the officials revealed was that their current method was ineffective. "Underperforming teachers were gaining tenure", and more than half of the "lowest-performing" students in the district attend the highest state-graded schools, writes Marshall.

What the county officials have been forced to admit is that the state public education method is inefficient, at best in achieving a positive return-on-investment with tax-payer dollars. Furthermore, the typical solution for poor performing schools has always been to throw more good money after bad.

The Gates Foundation's method, however, will incentivize teachers to work harder toward delivering results. Moreover, incorporating market-based measures for success is far more likely to advance school efficiency and yield a more positive return-on-investment for the public. 

Highly productive teachers will be rewarded based on their achievements in the classroom, not merely their seniority within the teacher's union. This concept is already viewed by some local teachers as a positive step in the right direction. Of course, writes Marshall, these changes will have to be "negotiated with the teacher's union".

Assuming the district is awarded the grant money and suggested teacher evaluation reforms take hold, positive changes are in the making for Hillsborough county public schools.