The American Association of School Administrators (AASA) noted what it termed “diversity of opinion” among school district leaders on pay for performance programs following a recent survey on the topic.
AASA released its survey results 
in June “in response to growing dialogue at the local, state, and national levels around the idea of restructuring pay to include performance measures.” Some noteworthy results are as follows:
A new Centers for Disease Prevention Web Site, Lean Works , is taking aim at obesity—specifically the high costs for employers and employees. One of the site’s tools, the Obesity Cost Calculator , can help estimate the cost of obesity for your district.
Based on the results of a 2009 report on the subject, Texans need to take heed. Texas ranks 14th in adult obesity and 20th in child obesity according to the report, F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies Are Failing in America , published by the Trust for American Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The report also addresses the impact of obesity on health and related costs.
For employers, the cost of obesity shows up in increased absenteeism, disability, presenteeism (employees who come to work sick), increased workers’ compensation claims, and increased health care premiums. For employees, obesity has a potentially higher cost: chronic and potentially debilitating health conditions.
Most employees who have full-time employment have no immediate plans to look for new jobs, according to “The Continued Economic Downturn: Employee Perspective,” a June 2009 Society for Human Resource Management (SMRM) poll.
Eighty percent of the 505 employees surveyed said they were not searching for a new job, 17 percent said they were searching passively, and 3 percent said they were actively looking. In 2006, 72 percent of employees said they were looking for new jobs, 31 percent actively and 41 percent passively.
A Watson Wyatt survey showed a similar tendency to stay put for workers nearing retirement. Faced with large losses in their retirement investments, most workers plan to delay their retirement date. The survey found that a third of all U.S. workers have increased their planned retirement age since February 2008. The effect was more pronounced with older employees. Forty-four percent of those 50 and older will work longer than they originally planned. While most employees plan to retire at age 65, half of those 50 or older now plan to retire at age 66 or later.
With employees inclined to keep their jobs, it is no surprise that college graduates—prospective teachers included—are finding it harder to find jobs. Texas school HR administrators have been quoted in numerous news media reports saying that they are doing less hiring due to lower attrition rates this year.
—“Employees Riding Out Recession, SHRM Poll Finds,” by Rebecca R. Hastings, Society for Human Resource Management online, July 7, 2009.
—“Older Workers Delay Retirement, Impacting Benefit Costs,” by Stephen Miller, Society for Human Resource Management online, June 24, 2009.
It’s not every day that a teacher gets a call from the U.S. Secretary of Education.
Princeton ISD Teacher Kyle Brenner chose to post his opinions on teacher compensation on the U.S. Department of Education’s “Listening and Learning Tour” blog. Brenner suggested increasing teacher salaries to match those in other, higher-paying fields and advocated for higher teacher standards to go with the additional pay. That post earned him a telephone call from Education Secretary Arne Duncan. Duncan has voiced support for various reforms for the teaching profession, most notably teacher performance pay.
Brenner also commented that teacher preparation programs should be based on law and medical school models where students with four-year degrees apply to enter. He called for national academic standards for students, noting that some states set the bar so low that little progress is possible.
Brenner teaches world history and is the debate coach at Princeton High School in Princeton, Texas.
