News Briefs
Houston school bonuses kept secret
Feb 28, 2008 1:23 PM
When the Houston Independent School District began its $23 million performance pay plan, it was widely criticized for awarding teacher bonuses based on test scores or for being inconsistent in making the awards. Now the district has a solution to the bad press. It wants the state attorney general to permit the district to keep confidential the names of teachers and administrators receiving the bonuses.
Attorneys for the district argue it has the right to do so, as the dollar amounts received by individual teachers and administrators amount to “performance evaluations,” which are private under state law.
“One can only wonder what the Houston Independent School District thinks the definition of public schools means,” said Houston Chronicle editor Jeff Cohen, whose paper is demanding the information.
Some 12,800 employees received bonuses this year, with the amounts for teachers ranging from $66 to $7,865.
Houston Chronicle, Feb. 14
