Latest news with #NadiaCombs
Axios
15-05-2025
- Business
- Axios
Hillsborough sets aside $15M for educators at low-performing schools
The Hillsborough County School Board agreed to earmark around $15 million to maintain a bonus structure for employees at more than three dozen low-performing schools in the district, the Tampa Bay Times reports. Why it matters: The bonuses can help retain and attract talent at the district's most vulnerable schools, where academic performance is low and more attention is needed to close achievement gaps. Catch up quick: The Transformation Network began in 2020 to provide extra support, including bonuses, to teachers and paraprofessionals at schools with chronic low performance. The network included 45 schools in its first year and will have 39 this year, per the Times. Zoom in: The approved bonus structure allows: $5,000 for teachers and assistant principals, $7,500 for principals and $1,000 for paraprofessionals at schools within the Transformation Network. Teachers eligible for a state bonus are limited to a combined $5,000 from both the state and district, according to the Times. Friction point: Teachers and board members, while supportive of the agreement, raised concerns about funding for what are known as Renaissance schools, designated by income level, not performance. Board member Nadia Combs said she worries that without additional funds, low-income schools could slip into low performance, per the Times. Renaissance schools are those where 90% or more of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Teachers at these schools received a salary differential in the 2024–25 school year. There were 26 Renaissance schools in the 2024–25 school year. In recent weeks, some teachers say they've heard colleagues thinking about leaving those schools.
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Hillsborough OKs teacher pay bonus for low-performing schools
The Hillsborough County School Board has approved a deal with the teacher's union that allocates around $15 million to keep in place a bonus structure for employees at schools within what is known as its Transformation Network. The district started the network in 2020 to provide additional resources to employees at low-performing schools. In its first year, the network had 45 schools, and this year will have 39. The bonus structure approved will allow an additional $5,000 for teachers and assistant principals, $7,500 for principals and $1,000 for paraprofessionals assigned to those schools. Some teachers are eligible for a state bonus, too, though it's capped at a combined $5,000 from both sources. The agreement also allows for additional planning and evaluation time for certain teachers. While teachers and board members expressed enthusiasm over the agreement, both raised concerns over an ending state program that provided additional funds to Renaissance schools, which are designated based on income level. 'I'm concerned that our Renaissance schools will one day become Transformation schools,' board member Nadia Combs said. Board member Henry 'Shake' Washington agreed that the district should try to find a way to get money to Renaissance schools, which would see a gap. 'We have improved a great deal, but we are a long ways from coming to our goal, where we need to be successful,' he said. In recent weeks, teachers have registered concerns over what the disappearance of Renaissance pay could mean. Erik Hagen, a music teacher at Oak Grove Elementary, told the board in April that he'd already heard whispers of teachers trying to leave Renaissance schools. 'Our schools have more challenges and barriers than others,' he said. 'I've heard from former colleagues how much easier a job is at one of our more affluent schools, saying things to me like, 'It's not worth it, you would be less stressed if you transfer.'' In the long run, he said, it's students from the poorest neighborhoods who suffer the most. Liz Baker, a behavior resource teacher at Tampa Bay Boulevard Elementary, told the board last month that her school ended the previous year with 35 vacancies, even with Renaissance pay. Much of their labor, she said, is unpaid. 'Renaissance schools serve some of our most vulnerable student population who often face poverty and instability and limited access to resources,' she said. 'Teachers in Renaissance schools wear many hats. We're not only educators, but we're mentors, counselors, translators and often students' most consistent source of support and safety.' Board chair Jessica Vaughn asked whether if a similar deal were to come back to the board to supplement Renaissance schools, the district would have a chance to revisit it. Superintendent Van Ayres said yes. Hillsborough County Classroom Teachers Association President Rob Kriete said the union plans to bring forth a proposal as part of negotiations. Florida, he said, remains 50th in the nation for teacher pay. 'It really creates an issue in the state of Florida and in Hillsborough County in dealing with vacancies all the time,' he said. 'So what we try to do is find creative ways to staff our schools, because our kids deserve it and students deserve quality teachers and quality professionals meeting their needs.'
