Voluntary School-wide Bonus Program Q & A

Dec 6, 2007 2:27 PM

1. When must the school complete its voting? The school must complete its voting and forward the results to both the DOE (tbowman@schools.nyc.gov) and the UFT (mmendel@uft.org) by Thursday, Dec. 13, 2007.

2. How was our school chosen to participate in the Program? All schools invited to participate were rated “high need” schools based on the same factors used in creating the progress report peer groups: for high schools, average proficiency ratings for actively enrolled students on 8th grade ELA and math exams; for middle schools, average proficiency ratings for actively enrolled students on 4th grade State ELA and mathematics exams; and, for elementary schools, poverty rate, student demographic characteristics, percent of English Language Learners and Special Education students. A list of approximately 430 schools was generated using these criteria and about half were randomly selected to be invited to be part of this year’s program

3. If a school votes to participate, are they committed to the program beyond this one year? No. The vote by the faculty and approval by the principal for participation is for this year only. If eligible to participate in future years, the faculty must vote again to approve and the principal must also approve.

4. Explain what is meant by “55% of the UFT staff must vote ‘yes’ in order to participate in the Program.” The vote must be approved by 55% of the full-time staff, not 55% of those who vote. Therefore, Chapter Leaders need to make every effort to obtain the votes of all members.

5. Is the award based on meeting/exceeding the target on the current Progress Report? Yes. Each school must meet or exceed the target on its progress report to qualify for 100% of the bonus (equivalent to $3,000 per every full-time UFT-represented employee on your school’s Table of Organization). If your school meets at least 75% of its target but less than 100%, your school will receive 50% of the bonus (equivalent to $1,500 per every full-time UFT-represented employee).

6. How can we obtain a better understanding of our Progress Report and how to meet our target? You should consult your school’s Senior Achievement Facilitator in the Office of Accountability who will be able to explain to you the various components of the Progress Report and what factors go into making up the total score.

7. Will there be any negative repercussions if we do not meet out target? No. This Program exists independent from any other measures used to judge a school (SURR list, etc). If your school received a low grade on the recent progress report, meeting its target this year could be viewed as evidence that you are doing a good job helping students.

8. What if the Compensation Committee cannot agree on the distribution formula for the award? In order for the school to receive the bonus the Compensation Committee must come to agreement regarding how to distribute the award. If this does not occur, the award won’t be provided to the eligible staff members. The Compensation Committee has until June 2008 to decide on the distribution of the award.

9. Are RTR, ATR and or staff on OSI charges eligible for the bonus? If a staff member works full time and is on the school’s Table of Organization, they will be taken into account for the amount of the award that a school receives.   The school compensation committee will decide how the money is distributed to members in these categories as well as the rest of the staff.

10. Can the award be donated back to the school? Individual UFT members will be the recipients of the awards, but they may choose to spend it as they see fit.

11. Is a U-rated staff member excluded from the bonus? No, they are not excluded.

12. Does the award include teachers who are on leave? Yes. The award would include teachers who are on leave as long as they are on your school’s Table of Organization.  As stated in question 8 above, the compensation committee will make the determination as to how the money should be awarded.

13. At what point during the school year will the “number of full-time UFT-represented members” be measured in order to determine the size of the award? This is still being discussed but is likely to be at the end of the school year.

14. Can the Compensation Committee choose to distribute the award in any way it deems appropriate? Yes. Although the total award will be based on the number of full-time UFT-members on the school’s Table of Organization, the percentage that each employee receives is determined by consensus by the Compensation Committee. Compensation Committees may elect to award each member equally, to differentiate by title, or to differentiate by individual. Compensation Committees may not, however, base individual awards on years of service.

15. If a staff member moves to another school next year, will they still receive the award? Yes. They will receive the award at whatever level the Compensation Committee determines.

16. Can employees with split assignments or who are part-time be included for purposes of calculating the award? They won’t be taken into account in determining the amount of money the school will receive, but the Compensation Committee can elect to make an award to them.

17. Will Principals and Assistant Principals receive a bonus if the school meets or exceeds its Progress Report target? Yes. If UFT-represented members qualify for the bonus due to the school meeting or exceeding its Progress Report target, Principals and Assistant Principals will also receive a bonus (amounts and criteria for this bonus are still being determined). However, the Compensation Committee will not be involved in determining the amount of this bonus, which will instead be determined by the DOE in consultation with the Council of School Supervisors and Administrators.

18. How will employees actually receive their share of the bonus? Employees will receive their share of the bonus either in a separate check or in their regular paycheck some time during the fall of 2008.

19. How is the program funded? The Program will be funded through grants from private foundations this year and through public DOE funds in subsequent years.

 

20. If “disruptions” occur among staff, can the program be discontinued? As stated previously, if the Compensation Committee cannot agree as to how to distribute the award, staff will not receive the bonus.

21. Whom should we notify when voting is completed? You should notify Terry Bowman at the DOE at tbowman@schools.nyc.gov, Michael Mendel of the UFT at mmendel@uft.org, and the UFT District Representative.

 

22. What are the upcoming dates and deadlines that I need to be aware of? The Compensation Committee (consisting of the Principal and the Principal’s designee, and two UFT members elected from among UFT represented staff) must be chosen by December 21. The next deadline following that, which is in June 2008, is for the Compensation Committee to decide how to distribute the award.