School board calls Q-Comp quits

Board members Stuart Nordquist, Will Kostiuk and Dena Wenberg voted against continuing the program another year; Michelle Hebner, Mark Lassila and Darrell Wagner voted for the continuation of the program.

Because there was not a majority vote for continuing the alternative teacher professional pay system program, the agenda item was denied.

“When we see results coming back on our tests it doesn’t show that,” Nordquist said of student achievement.

“I don’t see we’re making progress, we’re pouring this money in,” Nordquist told fellow board members. “I can’t see continuing this program. Does it have some good things? Yes it does. Was it good to have the effort of it? Yes it was.”

Hebner questioned Nordquist’s belief that student achievement has not been made through the duration of the Q-Comp program in the district since the 2006-07 school year. 

“Can you honestly say student achievement across the board has declined?” she asked Nordquist.

Nordquist responded that some grade level-subject scores have been down, others up, but the overall trend was a decline.

Nordquist, referencing a potential state government shutdown which could delay some payments to schools, said, “With the state of our economy and the money we have coming in, I can’t see committing the district to a possible state share of over $200,000.” 

The Q-Comp program is funded $260 total per student per year — $169 per student comes from state funding and $91 comes from a local levy within the district. Q-Comp payments of up to $3,000 annually are made to teachers at the end of each school year if all benchmarks are made during that school year — of which $600 is tied to the district meeting a student achievement goal. 

The benchmarks teachers needed to meet within the program guidelines include implementing two professional growth plans, performing and submitting to two peer teaching reviews, performing self reviews, attending a percentage of small-group team meetings and meeting a goal the district sets for student achievement. In addition to the general Q-Comp requirements, it also set up additional positions in which teachers could earn additional money. One such program was a mentorship in which veteran teachers were paired with freshman teachers their first year to answer questions and provide suggestion. All such Q-Comp-sponsored positions will be discontinued without the program.

Nordquist said student instruction days on the school calendar for 2010-11 had been cut from 174 to 170 days so Q-Comp projects and  team meetings could “be accomplished on school time.”

Referring to information published by the Virginia, Minn. schools, Nordquist said that the schools who had the highest teacher compensation packages did not necessarily make the grade.

“We don’t find the schools that pay the most their students score at the top,” Nordquist said. 

Hebner said that she appreciated a recent meeting members of the school board were invited to with faculty members and Local 331 teachers union officials in which the program was explained.

“I appreciate there is a process in place to show improvement,” she said.

Local 331 officials John Sandberg and Kevin Grover declined comment to The Journal following the meeting. 

“I think the program has overall improved the quality of education over the last five years,” Sandberg told The Journal two weeks ago.

“I think it would be a loss to the district if they don’t go ahead,” Grover agreed.

RTI specialist position

The board unanimously voted to reinstate a .375 full-time-equivalent Response to Intervention specialist position for the upcoming school year.

Superintendent Jeff Peura explained that funding for the position would come from Title I dollars, not from the general operating fund.