-
https://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/files/original/6094beea8f7e9718441d52314df5000c.pdf
d8c167a1fd0b1dd55fb202cd2f97bc47
PDF Text
Text
,
'
;Performance Bonuses Bring Uneven Payoffs for Teachers
·/"
V>
d
Z
t;
~
&l
..::::r
n
e-
~
....... ...:=
.......
d
z
I:tl
....
i
0
0
0
~
C
.co :.=
N
~
school year, and received an extra $1,000 in ward groups, teams or schools, rather than awarded bonuses if teachers took courses, teachers met both their goals, and some
their paychecks. Standardized test scores individuals, because so many individuals are read academic texts or developed new cur- failed to accomplish even one, creating ten
rose modestly, but the gains were not neces- , responsible for increasing achievement in riculum. The other eight schools either rat- sions arnongthe staff.
~ A groundbreaking experiment with persarily larger than in previous years.
schools," said Sandra Feldman, president of ed teachers based on student standardized
"This year, it really has not worked in the
,fMm~n{'p bonuses for teachers in Denver
But in at least one school, fewer than half the American Federation of Teachers.
test scores or other tests, including some de- way I wanted it to," Simmons said.
uneven resultsf;)r students and the teachers qualified for" the ful) bonus,
The National Education Association, the veloped by teachers. In a\1, teacher goals
Esther leMire waS on a three-member
__Jaculty_inJtsfirst rear-raising questions causing hard feelings among those who larger of the two teacher unions, is sched- were based on 100 different tests.
team of first-grade teachers who came up
,
an increasingly popwar-approaclito--didii'(""TIiey btamed-a-high"turnover of stu--uled-to·take·a-fonDaJ-position.on.thejssue_ _Those.goab varied!J)r teacher but gener- short-because three students got low
achievement.
.
dents and the poor scores of a few.
next month at its annual convention. A ally were aimed at raising scores by 5-t01O scores.
,
four·year test is an important aspect
Critics of altering the traditional salary study committee has recommended that it percentage points or bringing lagging stu"Maybe if we had been better goal writers
:of the growing trend of paying teachers at structure, which is based primarily on se- deem "group-performance incentive sys- dents up to grade level The 350 teachers re- ' we would have met our goal, or if we had put
,least p,artly based on their classroom perfor- niority, worry that teachers whose students terns" as "worthy of experimentation."
ceived $500 up front for participating in the our goal a little lower," said LeMire, the
,mances. The bonuses reward good instruc- fail to improve because of social problems
More states and districts are considering experiment and an additional $500 for school's representative to the local teachers
:tors and provide other teachers a financial beyond a teacher's control will unfairly lose some form of performance pay. Education reaching each of two achievement goals.
union.
)Ilcenlive to work harder toward improving out on bonus money. They also are <;on- leaders in New York, Los Angeles, CincinThe Denver school board is scheduled to
Principals and teachers participating in
student scores.
cerned that teachers competing for bonuses nati, Iowa, Maryland, Prince George's Coun- 'review initial results of the experiment at its the pilot project reported a number of fairOnly in Denver, where teachers in 12 ele-, won't work together as a team. Instances of ty and elsewhere have advocated o~ are 'meeting Thursday.
ness and technical issues.
•
~mrntary schools volunteered to participate
both were reported in Denver's trial run.
working toward teacher bonuses.
At ColfaX School on the city's far west
Is it fair to judge teachers of pre-kinder
,in the program, has "pay for performance~
But the idea oftransferring the concept to
"This is popping up all over,~ said Allan· side, 21 teachers reached both their goals gartners and kindergartners, for whom no
been based on test scores in individual class- public school teachers has gained political Odden, an education professor at the Uni- and the other two met one, according to standardized tests exist, based on scores on
'rooms, instead of entire schools.
support.
versity of WISConsin who has been preach- principal Mary Romero.
informal assessments? How fair a measure
: At some of the Denver schools, all or nearVice PresidentG<>re has specifically en- ing the "alue of perforlnance pay for a decFor Colfax's predominantly Mexican are the test scores of bilingual students in
Jyall the teachers met achievement goals ne- dorsed the Denver experiment, while a ade.
American students, the picture was mixed: the third grade, when they make a language
gotiated with principals at the start of the spokeswoman for Texas G<>v. George W.
Besides incentive bonuses. Odden said, In two grades, scores rose more than they transition and take a test in English for the
Bush said he would permit states to use fed- the concept includes "~ for knowledge and had the year before, while in two others the first time? How do you set achievement
eral funds for various forms of teacher com- skills" based on a WIdely accepted theory increase was sma11er than the previous year. goals for specialists who teach the arts or
pensation.
that students learn more if their teacher has In another grade, scores went down as much physical education? For support personnel
In the past year, the House and Senate grown professionally.
as they had a year earlier.
such as social workers and librarians?
have voted for versions of performance pay.
Teachers who undergo rigorous certificaNot all of the school's teachers set goals to
And there were some doubts that $1,000
Governors meeting at an education summit tion by the National Board of Professional· raise average scores. Some had specific was enough of an incentive to make a differlast fall also favored the practice.
'leaching Standards, for instance, receive goals for individual students.'
ence to teachers who earn an average of
About, 20 school districts and state&- bonuses or salary increases in 25 states and
Joyce Simmons, principal of Smith Ren- $42,000 a year.
.
from Boston and Dallas to Kentucky and 110 districts, including Virginia, Prince aissance School of the Arts in northeastDen"It was prol?ably enough to motivate a bit
California-:-:-pay bonuses to all teachers in a George's County and Montgomery County. ver, sounded glum as she described the re- of extra work," said Stephen Levin, a firstschool it its teSt scores rise. This approach Both national teachers unions support what suIts at the mostly African American school. grade teacher who met his goals at Edison
appeals to national teachers unions.
some call "knowle1ige-based pay."
Scores increased, but not any more than School. "I don't think it was enough to
"There's a pretty good consensus to reIn Denver's experiment, four schools
they had in recent years. Fewer than half the change the program."
~
Jt
�-e; .,. ,.
.'
,
.'
..
:~
.By DON
PHILLIPS
Washington Post Staff Writer
Egyptian authorities have· suggested
parts of an Aeromexico plane that expe
to U.S. investigators that co-pilot Ga
rienced a sudden, uncommanded eleva
mael Batouti was not alone in the cockpit
tor movement on the ground, they said.
..
when EgyptAir Flight 990 abruptly dived
U.S. investigative sources said ahnost
into the Atlantic Ocean last fall, killing
every part of the plane was damaged by
all 217 people on board, according to,I. the crash, and their metallurgists do not·
sources close to the investigation.
believe that any damage they have seen :
. U.S. authorities said privately that the
indicates an actuator jam. Those U.S..
Egyptian theory is based on a few gar i sources said Batouti could 'have con
bled words on the Boeing 767's cockpit
trolled the plane by doing what would be
voice recorder that are inconclusive.
natural for any pilot-pulling back on "
They· said the words might have come
the control column.
.
Flight 990 had four pilots, allowing
from a voice from elsewhere in the air
each rest time across the Atlantic. The
craft heard through the open cockpit
cockpit voice recorder revealed that as
door. The sounds were' recorded after
the plane climbed over the ocean, the
the captain left the cockpit, about a min
captain decided to take a break.
ute before the plane's final dive and 12
minutes into the Oct. 31 flight from New
U.S. investigators said there was no
~.
York's John F. Kennedy Airport to Cairo.
evidence that anyone other than Batouti
was in the cockpit when, accprding to da
The Egyptians also said that damaged
ta from the. flight data and cockpit voice
parts found in the crash indicate that a
recorders, someone cut off the autopilot.
mechanical problem could have caused
Six seconds later the plane went into a
the dive, but U.S. authorities said they
.~
dive that eventually approached the
doubt that theory.
.~
speed of sound. .
The Egyptian suggestions were P'!rt
The Egyptian investigators told the
of a meeting in late April between senior
Egyptian and U.S. safety officials, in
safety board that a voice can be heard on
the tape about a minute before the dive,
c1uding National Tr.ansportation Safety
after the captain left the cockpj,t: They
Board Chainnan Jim Hall. Sources from
both countries confinned details of the
say that voice says either "control it" or
"control light. "The voice cannot be ideil
meeting,. as well as more recent sugges
.~
tions that Egyptian investigators have of
tified.
.
fered on the cause of the ·crash.
Those words could mean that some
The April 28 meeting:appeared to be
one else in the cockpit might have point
. more than just an effort by the Egyptians
ed out an anomaly to Batouti, according
to persuade the NTSB to consider that a .
to the Egyptian investigators. U.S. in
mechanical problem caused the crash.
vestigative sources said voice recorder
.~
The Egyptians are upset at what they see'
specialists could not tell what was said.
as a failure by U.S. investigators to con
The Egyptians said there is further ev
sider all the evidence in the crash, com
idence of cooperation in the cockpit after
\ . pounded by news report5--9ften based
the captain returned when he, the co
on leaks from U.S. sources-that some
pilot and possibly another crew member
were involved in efforts to save ·the
times use the word "suicide."
plane.
The Egyptian government and EgyptThe flight data recorder sho~s that
Air' have hired several well-known law
firms, public relations.finns and fonner
'the dive was initiated by a downward de
safety board officials, ·including former
flection in the elevators as the plane flew
NTSB chairman Carl Vogt. But some in
at 31,000 feet. The captain returned to
the cockpit before the plane descended
vestigators believe that the Egyptians
to 28,000 feet, the Egyptians said, and at
are losing a war of perceptions, because
about 24,000 feet the plane began to re
they have been reluctant to present their
theories to the U.S. public.
.
cover from the dive.
In the April meeting, the Egyptians
Shortly thereafter, both engine fuel Ie
. detailed three main points to the NTSB:
vers were turned to "off," the first step in
• There is no evidence that Batouti com
restarting engines' that had cut off be-.
niitted suicide. Batouti was in good spir
cause of the near-supersonic speed, the
its before the flight, even offering some
Egyptians said. But U.S. sources have
pills of Viagra, the male impotence drug, '.
said this would make no sense if the crew
to a friend from the stash he was taking was trying to save the plane ..
back to friends in Egypt.
The voice recorder indicates someone
• U Batouti did initiate the dive, he may
said, "Shut the engines." Someone re
have been responding to a sudden me plies, "The engines are shut." Eg)'Ptian
chanical problem or to something he- . investigators told the safety board this
and possibly another crew member-' also indicates cooperation in the cockpit.
But U.S. investigative officials said
saw in the cockpit or outside. There is
some indication that as the'plane dived, that if crew members were cooperating
there was coordination between two or at that point, why didn't someone ad
three crew members working to save the vance the throttles, as if trying to gain
power, just as someone shut down the
plane.
.
.
• The Boeing 767 has experienced prob engines?
lems with elevator controls, and the safe
U.S. investigators say further proof
.~
ty board should consi.der .whether the that there was no cooperation in the
dive was initiated by an uncommanded cockpit comes just before the end of the
downward deflection of: the elevators, voice recorder tape. The two elevators
flat panels on the horizontal tail seCtion which nonnally move in tandem
that control the aircraft's up and doWI moved in oppositedirections. That could
movements.
happen if two pilots were commanding
In the weeks.since the meeting, Egyp . the elevators to move in opposite direc
tian investigators said they' have seel tions.
marks on one of the six hydraulic actua
tors that move the elevators, possibly in
dicating it jammed. If two actuators jam
on ,one elevator panel, Boeing simula
tions have shown, the elevator could
move involuntarily. Four of the· plane's
six actuators have been recovered. Egyp
tian sources also said rivets were found
sheared in opposite directions on a bell .
crank that helps transmit commands to
the elevator. That also was found on
~
~
u
0
0\ .I.
0\
"'::'.'
~
~
=
00
0
~
=
~
~
00
~.
~
z
00
~
~
~
0
~
~
SUNDAY, JUNE
18,
2000
I
!
But the Egyptians said that ~he
recorder at that point is less reliable ~e-. :
cause of the plane's high speed. U.S. mo. '
vestigators said they believe that the re
fmed data back them up.
.
The Egyptians also asked agam. t~e
true mystery of the crash: If BatoutI dId
.
it, why?
Batouti, they said, came from a good
family, and one of his two sons was a~ut
to be married. He had ~ne daugh.ter WIth
lupus, but she was domg well m treat
.
ment in California.
. Batouti was bringing back two tIres
for a vehicle in Egypt, as well as the Vi~
gra. In general, he appeared. to be m
good spirit~ and happy to be g~mghom~.
The FBI said earlier it could ~md no eVI
dence to explain why BatoutI would de
liberately down the plane.
.
So if it did happen, the EgyptIan~ say,
it is possible that somethi!lg he saw mflu
enced him to take the a c t I O n . :
The Egyptians noted that radar
showed several "primary" targets
planes with the trans~onder turned off,
missiles, flocks of ~Irds or even at
mospheric c1utter-m the area t~at
night, some of which lasted seve~~ ',lin
utes and moved at hig~ sp~. A pnma
ry" target is any object hIt by radar
beams that does not ~aye a ~ransponde.r
to report an aircraft s IdentIty and altI
tude.
.
The Egyptians say that they are not
proposing some missile t~eory but tha.t
investigators should look mto the POSSI
bility that something outside the plane
startled Batouti.. U.S. sources sa!d a~
, military airspace in the area was . ~old .
that night, meaning that no mlhta~
planes or weapOns were engaged m
training or tests.
�second tragedy in four months. In December, a CH-46 crashed in
the .ocean during a training mission off Point Loma, killing six
_ to deploya controversial military aircraft now in
Marines and a Navy ,corpsman.
..'
..
stages of testing were cast in doubt Sundayaft~r 19
.
I
The Osprey. named for a large, diving bird of prey. is .
were killed in a weekend crash that ranks among the most
peacetime accidents in years.
_ ' 1 ' .1'. "\.
' .Jl')eant to be the Marine Corps' replacement for the aging CH-46 Sea
Knighthehcopters, which have been criticized as too slow. too loud
A tilt-rotor V-22 Osprey, built to take off'like a
". and too'prone to maintenanc~ problems.
helicopter but then rotate its propellers 90 degrees to fly like a
,The Osprey is built to achieve speeds in excess of325
fixed-wing craft. crashed nose down Saturday night necir a. ,
mph and fly at an altitude over 22.000 feet. With twice the capacity
muriicipal airport at Marana. Ariz., about 15 miles northwest of
and range of conventional helicopters, the aircraft is designed to
Tucson..
..:'.
. I
.
carry 24 troops and extemalloads of 15,000 pounds for distances
· The aircraft, which was landing when it crashed, was
as far as 2,000 miles . The craft can also fly high e'nough to be used,
participating in'an exercise simulating the rescue ofperSonnel from
by paratroopers. .
a hostile environmen.t. " : '
· 1 ' , -.
The Marine Corps. which has ordered 360 of the $44
Ofthe 19 dead. 14 were combat troops fro~ Camp
million Ospreys. has stuck with.the new aircraft despite some
Pendleton north of San Diego. one was from the Miramar Marine
congressional criticism and a crash into the Potomac River in 1992
_
Corps Air Statio,n in San Diego. and four were Osprey ~rew
that killed four Marines and three civilians. That crash was caused
members from a helicopter squadron in Quantico, Va.)
, :'
when an engine caught fire. a design defect the military insists has
The crash was the third most deadly inyolving'military
been corrected.
personnel withilJ the United States in the past·l0 years.! In no other:
"The Marine Corps has stuck its neck way out with the
crash have more Marines been killed, the Manne Corpk said.
'.
Osprey and bet very heavily that its brand~new technOlogy will
.
Since 1990. the oni): cra,shes of military airc'raft in ~e
work." said Stephen Millikin. a retired Navy helicopter pilot and
, United States with greater loss of life were the crash of an Air
editor of The Hook. the publication of. the San Diego-based
Force plane in 1995 that killed 24 ~d the coilision of two Air
Tailhook Association, a carrier aviation support group.:
Force planes in 1994 tha.t killed.23.
.' "
· . "This terrible loss of.life is a reminder of how many
men and women in the nation's military put theiflive~ ~t,risk.·each
and every day. so that we might be a free people and the cause of
Debate Continues Over Bonuses Tied to Teacher Performance
By Richard Lee Colvin .
peace can be advanced thro~ghoutthe world." Presideht Clinton
said in a statement issued after he,called the, commanding.officers
Los Angeles Times '
,
DENVER In attempting to tie teachers'pay to students'
of the victims.
.
,,'"
""
'performance. Los Angeles Unified School District managers are
, . Military crash investigators probing the charred .
proposing a dramatic experiment that goes far beyond anything
wreckage of the aircraft Sunday did not speculate in p~blic about
previously tried in an urban system. .
the cause of the accident, whlch occurred about 8 p.m:
.
·
They will attempt to determine if the crash \.vas the result .
Enthusiasm for pay-for-performance policies is
of mechanical malfunction. pilot error or problerps associated with
spreading nationally, fueled by a belief. among some politicians and
night-vision goggles and the use of forward-looking iAfrared radar,
policY'experts that what's good for business competition a~d .
Goggles allow crew members to see in the (lark but can
financial rewards should be good for education.
sometimes impair peripher3.J vision. .
So far, however. there's little evidence to support that·
argument, especially a system as large and complex as Los
Some witnesses said they thought the plane was on fire'
_Angeles'.
before the crash.
'. _
I
.
In response to the crash. a Pentagon spokeswoman said
The most ambitious pay-for-petformance contracts are to
no Ospreys
be flown "ulltil we can get oUr arms around what
be found in affluent. high-performing suburban districts. Even
may 'have happened.."
" .
"
J'
: there. the provisions are more limited than the bold plan envisioned.
The Boeing Co., which produces the Osprey jointly with
by Los Angeles Unified officials. And educators are reluctant to
attribute gains in those districts to the effects of bonuses.
.
Bell Heli~opter Textron of Fort Worth. TexaS, issued)a statement
calling the crash "a source of great concern and sorrow for all of·
One of the most sophisticated efforts can be found
"
'
).
~.
.
outside Denver. in Douglas County, the nation's fastest growing
"Both companies (Boeing and Bell) are c09perating and
county during the 1990s. The 6-year-old program is voluntary and
supporting the Marine Corps to determine the cause tif this
offers rewards to both inqividuals ,and groups of teachers thin can
, total $3.000 a year or even more.
.
accident." the statement said. '
, "
, Teachers not administrators. decide not only what
AMarine Corps spokesman Sunday dec~ined to say
whether the crash might jeopardize plans'for the lUrdaft.
academic goals they want to pursue but also how progress ,is to be
measured.,
"
, ,
. 'I don'l even want to speculate on that." Gapt. Rob '
,
I
Winchester said: "It's going to be based on the inves~igation.
. Los Angeles school officials say they borrowed from the
Douglas County plan in developing their own, But there is a stark
The military has experimented with the O~prey for more
difference: The Los Angeles Unified plan would be built,around
than a decade at a cost of several hundred trumon dollars.
. Saturday's crash occurred during the firial stages <;>f ~ seven-month
standardized test scores ~nd state tankings. Largely because of that. ,
evaluation period to determine the aircraft's "operatibnal
the district and its teachers will be on a collision course when
, negotiations begin this week.
.
, '/ .
.
suitabiJity"for deployment.
. In asystem plagued by dismal test scores and a lack of
The Marines inSaturqay's crash were training for
public confidence. Superintendent Ramon C. Conines said drastic
·deployment t~ the Persian Gulf. '
"..' j
,
The first twin-turbine Ospreys are set to qeploy within
action is "ecessary to 'get schools to focus attention on students'
three years with Marines from a helicopter squadron'in New River.
basic skills.
N.C. The entire fleet of O~preys is not scheduled to be ready until
He is proposing a modest across-the-board raise arid
2014.'
" . '.
I
bonuses for teaching staffs at low-performing schools that'improve
· '''Evaluatingnew equipment and'traininglfor war. like '
their test scores' by a cenain amount. More controversial is the idea
of paying bonuses to particularly distinguished individuals. again
· war itself. puts life at. risk." Navy Secretary Richard IDanzig said In
based partlyon.their students' test scores. Many details of the
a prepared statemen~. "In pea~e and war. Mannes accept that risk
it is a bond between us. .. .' . .' .
proposals are open to negotiation.
,
As investigators began the laborious job of determining
. Conines said he believes cash awards offer the best hope
· th.e cause of the crash. Marine Corps officers and s~nior enlisted . for mobilizing schoolwide campaigns to improve, Besides .
personnel fanned out across the country to notify th~ families of the . California and a number of other states already are awarding
dead and to stay with them to help them deal with their grief.
schoolwide bonuses for test scores, He said he's merely getting
"The entire Marine Corps family grieve~ for the'
schools in 'Los Angeles focused· on the same thing.
Marines we've lost in this tragedy. and, our thought~ and prayers go
. United Teachers-Los Angeles is demanding a 21 percent
. out to their families." Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Jones pay incr~ase and has rejected the bonus idea outright. The union
has organized marches and has threatened to strike if pushed on the
said.
".
'
. ' . 'I .
For.Camp Pendleton. the Osprey crash·marked the
pay-for-performance issue. .
I '
I·. . .
c'
will
'
I.
w
'j
,
in
�Union officials say the use of tes~ scoies to determine
bonuses has failed every time since it was introduced in schools in
England in the 17oos. They say it is inherentJy unfair because
teachers~pay would be affected by factors over which they have no
, control, such as students' motivation, home lives and parental'
involvement or lack thereof. '
Instead of working together, teachers would feel they
had to compete with their colleagues. ,
'
"Rather than throwing money at results ... why don' we
invest up front in things like training, lower class sizes and"
'
basically, giving teachers incentives to not leave ... by paying
competitive salaries," said U1LA Presiderit Day Higuchi.
Douglas Couniy, a bedroom community for Denver's
high-tech center and tbrivingfinancialand aerospace industries, has
managed to avoid the controversies over pay for perfonnance.
Teachers, even those skeptical in the beginning, are now
accustomed to the idea of earning financial rewards.
But the key lessons of Douglas County go slow and
listen to teachers may not be welcome in Los Angeles. '
"That's the way you get your buy-in. ~ said Rob Weil. a
math teacher who as president of the Douglas County Federation of
Teachers travels around the country speaking about the plan.
In the early 1990s. the district faced a financial crunch
brought about by a sharp decrease in state aid, In community
,
forums on how to save money, many resldenu. were skeptical of the
way the district paid its teachers. As is tYPiCal In education, salaries
were based on longevity and credentials rather than on skill, effort
or effectiveness.
When voters defeated a bond m;asure needed to pay for
new schools, they sent a signal to the union and the district. .
"It became cle~ to us that if we didn' do something, we '
were going to be in trouble,"Weil said. '
Leaders of teachers unions across the country have come,
to similar conclusions and that's one reason that pay-for
perfonnance efforts are gaining momentum nationally.
Last fall, a national summit of governors and business
leaders called for at least 10 states to launch pay-for-performance
experiments.
,
"It comes from a fundamental belief in the workings of
the market at the micro-level, ~ said T~eodore R. Mitchell, the
president of Occidentid College. "If you put money on the table
and say, '111 give you that money if you go from here to there,'then
people will work harder to get that. ~
But education research dating back to the 1930s has
found that teachers like workers in many other fields are mostly
motivated by a desire to do a good job. They get the greatest
satisfaction from the stimulation of kids engaged in learning.
Districts should tap into that and "create a way for
teachers to work smarter, to develop their craft and to develop the
skills that are missing. ~ Mitchell said.
,
In Cincinnati, the union has devised Ii ComPlex "career
,ladder!' that teachers would ascend, earning higher pay as they
mastered various aspects of teaching. It is undergoing a pilot test
this year.
In Cincinnati, as in Douglas 'County, the idea of linking
pay to test scores was rejected.
'
, New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is pushing to have
test scores used to determine teachers' bonuses. An,arbitrator's
decision has forced the use' of test score gains as the basis for'
teachers' bonuses in the Colonial. School District outside
Philadelphia. But many teachers there say they wiUdonate the
bonuses to charity in protest.
:;' "
Denver Public Schools is the only other iarge district in '
the country experimenting with paying teachers on the basis of
scores on standardized tests. Under pressure from the school board
and community members concerned about low test scores. the '
Denver Classroom Teachers Association agreed last fall to
experiment with the idea. This year 350 teachers have volunteered
to have their performances assessed on one of three measures
scores on standardized tests. scores on tests designed by the
teachers or the impact on students of professional development
classes.
Already. the changes required to implement the system
more broadly the need for student-by-student achievement data, a
way to communicate with teachers, changes to the payroll system
are proving so profound that a, decision on full implementation has
been put back by two years. until the end of 2003.
In Douglas County, a district with 33.000 students.
individual teachers can earn bonuses of $1,000
assembling portfolios that showcase their philosophy
'That's the most controversial aspect of the contract. U!A.,dU:,t:
teachers say it rewards those who do 'a good job of selling
themselves,
Other aspects of the contract boost teachers' pay for
taking on extr~ responsioilities and for learning particular skills
designated by the district. Both are common elements of contracts
nationwide and are part of what's being proposed in Los Angeles.
The most popular if not the most lucrative aspect of the '
Douglas County contract involves group awards. Teachers or, for
that matter, groups of principals or even custodians can decide on a
'
,/
measurable goal and, with district approval, pursue it.
At Ponderosa High School. for example, teache.rs and
the principal looked at students' performance and decided an area of
weakness was the ability to read nonfiction and technical texts.
English teachers came up with lessons in diagraming, outJining and
the like. Then they taught their colleagues how to teach those
techniques. That becam.e the focus throughout the school and. after
one year, the scores ona reading test chosen by the teachers to
measure their progress had gone up substantially. In' their July
paychecks. teachers received an extra $495 apiece, minus taxes.
N. Korea~ S. Korea Leaders Plan to Hold Summit
By Sonni Efron
Los Angeles Times
TOKYO, April·lO The North and South Korean·
governments each announced Monday that South Korean President
Kim Dae Jung wiII travel to Pyongyang, the North Korean capital,
for a frrst·ever summit meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong
JJ from June 12·14.
If it comes to pass the summit would be the first'meeting
between top South and North Korean leaders since the peninsula
was divided in 1945.. The symbolism of the summit date almost
exactly 50 years since the Korean War began on June 25, 1950
raised hopes that direct negotiations between the two Koreas might
at last begin to melt the hostile standOff that has continued unabated
since the end ofthe Cold War.
"It's extremely significant. ~ said Joel Wit. a fonner U.S.
State Department official who is now a guest scholar at the
Brookings Institution in Washington.."It probably indicates that
we're at a turning point ~n North Korea's policy toward the outside
world, and specifically toward South Korea. It's enormous
change in direction. "
'
The stunning announcement carne at 10 a.m. Monday
local time, three days before South Korea is scheduled to hold key
parliamentary elections in which Kim Dae Jung's party is expected
to fare poorly.
,
The United States and Japan immediately welcomed the
announcement and pledged their support. But an outraged South
Korean opposition blasted the Kim government for trying to time a
diplomatic breakthrough for use as a campaign card. One party. the
. nited Liberal Democrats, suggested that Kim might be
U
compromising South Korea's national interests for quick political
gain:
. 'We suspect thilt in order to realize this meeting, the
government must have made large concessions. which may damage
national security, ~ said a statement by the United Liberal Democrats
read on ,Korean television.
The secretary general of the opposition Grand National
, Party took a slightly softer line. however.."We welcome the
summit meeting. but we regret that the announcement was made
immediately before the election, ~ said Lee Bu Young.
, North Korea's founder, Kim 11 Sung. had agreed to a
summit with former South Korean President Kim Young,Sam in
1994, bUI died before the meeting could take place. Relations
between the two sides deteriorated. and North Korea's isolation
appeared to deepen as Kim long 11 quietly moved to consolidate his
grip on his father's mantle. The reclusive Kim long II has not left
the country since his father's death.'
.,
,
Kim Dae lung has made improved r~lations with North
Korea a cornerstone of his foreign policy during his two years in
office. But until very recently. North Korea has rebuffed all efforts
at direct talks, calling Seoul a U.S. puppet and insisting instead on
negotiating with what it considers to be the puppet master. the
United States, which still has 37,000 troops stationed in South
Korea. A number of spy incidents and a major naval clash between
an
�efIective~ess of a teacher or a School had
produced a kind of stalemate: Parents
and politicians pointed to' schools with
low test'scores and blamed tlie teachers
and' principals. Theedilcators' ,defense
was that their schools had large numbers
of low-income students whose home en
virorunent was a drag on their academic
work. Both sides were often right.
Sanders. however. focuses not on one
set of test results but on how the scores
change over time. He contends that by
looking at a student's tes.t-score gain or
loss from the previous. year, one isolates
,the role played by the classroom teacher-'-the teacher's "value-added effect," as
he calls it.
His argument that an effective teacher
on' produce' irnprovement in any stu
dent. low-income or affluent. has helped
force a fundamental rethinking of policy
in many school districts. Caillornia's new
menlo although Sanders says the stIte's
tests are designed to challenge even high
achievers.
,
,, "
I
Some experts al80 question the prem'
Glenda RusselJ was handed a piece of
ise that the fluctuations in test scores
paper that said she was just ian average
from year to year stem mostly from \vhat
teacher. But that was 'not how she saw
goes on inside the classroom. Sanders
herself,'
sal'S that outside inlluences are mini
Like thousands of her Tennessee col
mized by the fact that the st:tte con~iucrs
league,. she complained bitterly about
three years' worth'of results.
. the'man woo had come up \vith the for
A' Washington Post analysis of 1997
mula being used to evaluate her-a pro
Tennessee test-score dat:t supplied by
fessor in 'an ivy..::overed towh, she said.
Sandrrs's office found that among school
cranking out numbers that had nothing
districts Vlith a large concentration of
to do with squirmy children. I
poor students. the average test-score
111en, just to be sure, she asked an in
gain was smaller than among districts
struction specirilist to obg(.~eher work.
viith a medium or low student poverty
The specialist saw that Russellintro
rate. That pattern might rellect the aca
duced nlaterial well to, he~ 'flfth-grade,
demic challenges that students from low
math students. but did not review
incomr i3JT'jlies face. Or it coult! mean
, enough. Russell altered he'r approach.
that schools in low-income ar<'3S have a
spending every Monday going over the
disproportionate share of weak teacllers.
previous week's,lessons.'
Sanders himself is wary oi attaching
, The next year. her stud~nts had an
average gain of 38 points 011 a standard 'school rankings are based on "growth ('ho mJny consequence~ to his ratin~s. He
ized math test. almost twice ~s bigajump. .targets" rather than raw scores, school . is coolwproposals for teacher merit pay.
as the year before. The year after that. the districts in Colorado are experimenting for exampk. He ~aid he thinks his modd
scores increased 40 poin~s, then 52
with the Sanders model and the Annen
works '!x>cau,e conscientious teachers
points. then 56. ~He was right: she said
berg ,Foundation is supporting a Sanders such as Russell feel bad when they dis
of the professor whose formWa had.das-anal~"is of test scores in Florida. In the cover they are not very effective and.
sified her as average. "I had! been teach
Wa,hington area, Fairfax County school without any thought ofmoner or praise,
ing for 20 years and I hadleJeled off."
officials are measuring each school' look for \\';Iys to do better.
The University ofTenne~ professor against its past performance. and Mont: , He said he has seen enough improve
who won 'Russell's grudging words of gomery County officials are leaning in ment in Tennessee schools in the last dec
praise is William L Sanderd. whose sys·
the same direction.
ade to convince him thRt most teach::rs
tern of assessing schoo!s. ~d teachers
Tennes-'lCC's system uses st:tndardized are taking the results to heart.•About 40
tests given annually to students in grades percent of districts have made reasonable
based on their students' test-score gaing
, was adopted by the st:tte inl1992 and is
three through eight and tells each teach , progress," he 5:lid. About 50 percent have
being used in every Tenne&Je schoot'dis
er and each school how much their stu stayed the same. he said. and the rest .
trid..
dents have improved. The schuol data have lost ground.
Rus.';ell, 53, has retired from the class
are released to the public. while the
Tennessee is encouraging additional
room in order to show other teachers
teacher figures are shared only with rrsean;h by Sandcr~ and others in hopes
how to get ~he same results[she did. She
school officials.
of determinin!! what the most efiective
said she still hears some of them call
Tennessee law says that no teacher can teachers do thai can be pas-'ied on to oth
~ Sanders "a lot of names that' I \Vill not re be fired, solely because of standardized er teachers.
~
peat on the phone."
I
' test results, but some teachers havere "The real d}'llamic in education is the
The debate over'Sanders's approach.
gain or i,'Towth of children," said Benja
'CD has spread far beyorid Tennes-'lCC's bor- tired <'arly because of the state's ratings, min Bro\\TI, the state's executive direclor
':::- .. ders. Lawmakers and scliool officials and others have been transferred, said Al forevaluatinn and assessment. "And to
• - , across the country have seiZed on his re
Mance, executive director of the state's me that is the only socially, politically and
~ : search as they strive to mrkt public de
leading teachers union.
morally correct way to detennine ac
~
mands for greater school ac~ountability.' Although several researchers think countability for educators."
G' " The impact of Sanders's Y(ork is "abso Sanders ha;; deyeloped a reason~bly accu
lutely extraordinary," said \'(illis D. Haw- ' ' rate gauge of teacher and school quality,
What do Jou think of IFilliam L.
ley. a professor of education land policy ai
he also has ~uracted his shar~ of critics.
Sanderss method of rat ingteachers
. Some obJe;:t to the whole Idea o~ put-.. alld scliools:? To post your com ments./(o
fairs at the University of MaTyland. "He is
spending all his time on th~ road talking ling a.numencal value on a t~acher s 1<11 /0 u·ww.washinglonpost.com and click
to state legislators about his fifldings."
enl~. Sanders defmes effechv; t~a('hers all "Education.· And visit tilt' Web ~,.jte
Before 'Sanders develo~ his rating as those who g~t thesco:~ up, said Fatr atl p.m. tomon-ow t%ln a live online
system. the issue of how, tq meatlure the fax-based testUlg Speclalist Gerald W. discussion with Sanders.
Bracey. "j can show teachers ,or e v e n "
.
whole schools that are considered exc,el
lent but have inodcsLimpact on test
scores."
, -,
Others, such as Susan Goldman, a psy
cholo!!)' profes.-;or at Vanderbilt Univ,ersi
ty's education school. wonder if teachers
with many high-performing students
, have a chanceto show as much improve
BX JAY 1vLATHEWS
Ifo1,<hil1?TunPus1 StaJllrriter
I .',
I ' .
I
..§
ec;
"'}
Q:l)ctOllSl)1l1gtou'1Jost
TUESDAY. MARCH
14..
2000
�Word coUrsed through the news
room that the publisher of the Tri
bum~'{)wned Orlando Sentine~ John
Puerner, would be ensconced at the
Tunes within the week, as liaison to
the new corporate parent in Chica
go. (One reporter winced: "The Or
the newsroom th~ sense was we
were recovering from the Staples
problem at a reasonably rapid rate,"
said Washington bureau chief Doyle
McManus, who was concerned
about the fate of his and other bu·
reaus. ~People felt pretty good about
. lando Sentinel? Give me a break. Is the performance of Kathryn Down
that where any of us want to ing and Michael Parks on their
promises of cleaning up the prob
work?")
.
Reporters combed through the ·Iem. So in that sense it's not the sto
Tribune Co.'s Web site for clueS to ry of staff that was mired in angst
the character of their new employer: and hit by something else. It's more
like we were back on our feet ... and
TnDune reporters don't get stock
Rattle~
options, they learned, and their all of a sudden a bomb goes off." ,
Some reporters were trying to see
401K retirement benefits could be
Newspap~r
the glass as half full. Maybe Los An·
slashed in half.
geles doesn't need to own its own
More to the· point, ~we're obvi
By SHARON ~A.'O,l~
ously hoping we donYsee a lot of newspaper, they said. Maybe this is
1(,;shill!"olll'usr S"'Jj'Wrirer
the way of the future.
people losing their jobs," said legal
i have mixed feelings about it,"
reporter Henry Weinstein, especial
LOS ANGELES, March l~By 10:20 a.m., the 'Iy since Willes already doWnsized
said columnist Shawii Hubler. "If '
f1uorescent·lit newsroom of the Los Angeles Tunes theTunes when he came aboard as
this were a different kind of city, it
was buzzing with the loud hum of incertitude, Re publisher five years ago. i don't
would be a devastating thing. But
porters and editors clustered around the city desk think anyone is happy to be bought. " from a citizen's'standpoint, in the
On the other hand, many rumi.
and outside Editor Michael Parks's office, City Editor
best of circUmstances LA. doesn't
Bill Boyarsky was paSsing out a memo from Tunes· nated, things could probably be . have the cOriventional notions of
l'vlirror CEO Mark Willes and another from Publisher worse. The Chicago TnDune is cer
community. The conventional no
Kathryn Downing.
taintya respectable daily, if not Quite
tions of a newspaper's role never ex·
"Thank you 'for building a company that won the one of the nation's top-tier newspa
isted anyway. It's not the L.A. that
Pulitzer Prize," went the Willes memo, in a message pers. Better than being bought by
the Chandlers had in mind back
that ,sounded suspiciously like a valedictory. ~unes- tabloid.king Rupert Murdoch, they ,when they were involved. Now two
Mirror has been in existence for 115 years, You are said, or (gulp) America Online.
, out of three people come from some
And strangely enough, few were
the last in a line of dedicated and extraordinary peo-.
place else anyway. So from a com
pie who have made our company great.·
, mourning the exit of the Chandlers,
munity standpoint it's probably not
"The lasn That didn't sound too encouraging-, a the newspaper dynasty whose name
going to have that big an effect."
few people noted, How was that supposed to make is synonymous with old.guard Los
But Morrison didn't agree. "I've
them feel on the morning it was announced that their Angeles and emblazoned on such
been here since I was 17: intern, sub
proudly independent newspaper would become a cultural monuments as the Dorothy
urban sections. In a way this is my
subsidiary of the Chicago-based Tribune Co.?
Chandler Pavilion.
family. I'm committed to this city, I
There's "confusion, apprehension and a kind of
"There's such a sense thai the
feel passionately about it. I think
!dddiness," said one reporter who, like most in-. Chandlers as a group have been so
we're all concerned about what hap
tervicwed today, was wary of being Quoted by name. checked-<lut for so long, that I don't pens now. TItis has been a very long
"People here are still sort of reeling." '
think it takes anyone by surprise,"
chapter and we're about to write a
"It's as if someone had told me the Pacific Ocean said one longtime reporter. "For
new one."
,
had been sold," said veteran columnist Pall MaTTi· many months there has been a lot of
A sense of cynicism permeated an
son, "The Tunes and the Chandlers have been an in skepticism arid cynicism about the
overcrowded staff meeting this
tegral part of the life and landscape of the city for 31 Chandlers' commitment to this
morning, where hundreds of staffers
most as long as there's been a city, What happens I newspaper."
crowded into the Tunes's fifth-floor
now that that era has ended?"
" , The sole exception to that senti
auditorium to hear Downing's ex·
What indeed? Apprehension-if not outright de-' ment is Otis Chandler, the former
planation of the merger. Again:
pression-reigned in the newsroom for much of the publisher credited with catapulting
Many Questions. Not so many an
dayas editors and reporters chewed over the possible the Tunes into the premier rank of
swers. A sense of bewilderment, the
consequence~ of the merger.
I
U.S. newspapers 30 years ago. He
sense that their newspaper was not
a public trust but a movable, rna!lea·
What did it mean that Los Ange , 'publicly chastised Downing for her
ble commodity, to be sold for mas
les, the nation's second-largest city,
role in the Staples Center mess in
sive profit when it pleased the
would no longer have a locally
November. But Otis Chandler, who
board.
'
owned ~jor daily?
is not on the Tunes-Mirror board,
Questions were thrown out to the
Was it better or worse that the
could not be reached for comment
floor: Why would the'TnDune Co.
Chandler family-whose members
today; he did not take calls at his Ox
want to buy the Los Angeles Tunes,
on the Tunes-Mirror board had tak·
nard auto museum.
someone asked?
'
en no particular interest in the neWs
The sense of dislocation was par_
. Downing smiled. "Who wouldn't
paper in recent rears-was cashing
ticularly severe today because this
want to own the Los Angeles
out?
was just the latest-albeit the big
Tunes?" she responded.
What effect, if any,. did a recent
gest--<lf several shake-ups at the
And a lone voice cracked wise
Los Angeles Tunes in recent years, '
ethica1lapse at the Tunes over coy.
from the audience: "The Chandler
starting with the appointment of
erage of a new downtown arena, the
Trust",'·
Staples Center, haVe to dOlwith the
Willes, an executive from the cereal
,.
merger?
industry, as chairman arid chief ex
Special correspondent Neal Becten
Would downsizing be'inevitable
ecutive in 1995. Since then, cut
crmtributed to this report.
once the Tribune Co., which de
backs and a new pro-business edito
mands substantially higher profit
rial philosophy have marked the
margms than 'Hmes-Mirror, took
Willes era, culminating in the em
over? What would be the fate of the
barrassing Staples episode-in
which the newspaper shared ad rev
, Tunes's prestigious (but expeilsive)
foreign and national bureaus?
enue with the subject of news cover
Downing's memo, conveying the
age.
'
TnDime's affinnation of the princi
"The irony is that I think inside
pies of editorial independence and
integrity, did little to assuage the
ambient anxiety. The publisher,
most agreed. was herself damaged
goods. Downing was responsible for
the Staples Center fiasco that result
ed in a staff revolt four months ago.
She had to publicly apologize at the
time for her lack of experience in
newspaper publishin~.
L.A. Times
StaffSzifJers
Seismic Shock·
a
Word of Merger
Family-Owned
TUESDAY. MARCH
14.
2000
�Long History of Turmoil Surrounds Incentive Pay for Teachers .
Ing to Wellford W. Wilms and Rich·
uatlons to judge Individual teacher hold their schools accountable.
In 1969, Arkansas was the first to ard R. Chapleau, education scholars
performance, relying on a school
principal's review In doling out re
try the Incentives, in the Texarkana who wrote an article In Education
wards.
public schools, one of the lowest· Week last NovemtJer about the histo
Mr. Giuliani's opponent in the Sen
performing distrIcts In a state with a ry of merit pay for teachers.
More recently, a 1997 effort In Ken
ate race, Hillary Rodham Clinton, major achievement gap between
tucky to award teachers cash b0, said last week that she would support black and white students.
merit pay plans that rewarded entire
B SARAH KERSHA W
In a program run out of Washing· nuses for higher test scores, as part
y
schools rather than 'singling out Indl-, ton, all Texarkana school employees of an Incentive program that also
The mayor says It will help steer Vidual teachers, an Idea: that some were eligible for financIal Incentives Included schoolwlde bonuses; was
New York City'S school system off unions also support.
plagued by grade Inflation on tests
About six states and a ~ozen school If test srores Improved, and students and other problems.
the road to doom. His opponent In th~
who did well on tests would receive
Senate race, echomg the teachers
districts are ,experimenting with
Many other Incentive plans pro
union, warns that It w~\I divide the schoolwlde bonuses, but as Is the free transistor radios, green stamps posed by state education agencies
and rock musIC albums.
ranks of teachers and conquer their case now.!n Colonial, Pa., near PhlJa.
and local school boards have died
. spirit. An Impasse over the Issue delphia Incentive programs that
amid opposition from teachers'
prompted the schools chancellor last also orr~r cash awards to Individual . .... ._ ~__
..
unions.
'
'
week-to cancel summer classes-for teachers have typically touched off
In Los Angeles earlier this month,
70,01'0 students. The topic Is a hot one political flrestorms or been derailed
.0.',
. the union threatened to strike,ln part
elsewhere, too: teachers In Los An· by critics.
an over a merit pay plan proposed by
geles and England were threatening
Education scholars have watched CO
the acting school superintendent, Rn
mon C. Cortines, the former New
to strike over It 10 days ago.
public school merit pay plans come
But history, too, has something to and go and come again since the first
York City schools chancellor.
British teachers, too, are locked In
say about merit pay for public school United States experIment, In Texarteachers,a concept that dozens of kana, Ark., the beginning of a nationa ferocious battle with the govern
school districts across the country al Incentive program spearheaded
ment over a proposal that would tie
have embraced as a way to Improve, by President Richard M. Nixon.
••
•
annual pay raises of £2,000, or $3.159,
student achievement.
'Many experts say such' plans have
to performance and possibly have
After almo'st three centuries of ex· been dogged by fraud and rarely lead
teachers evaluate their colleagues
periment, the merit pay closet Is to real gains In student achievement.
and recommend them for bonuses.
The program, known as "perform
"When you-throw Individual merit
crammed with skeletons. There Is
ance contracting" because private The teachers say the government's
the very dusty payment·for·results pay Into the mix, controversy,
plan would fuel mistrust and lead to
plan that was tried and then dropped erupts," said Allan Odden, an educa: companies were hired to test the bribery and what a union leader
students and evaluate the perform
In IBlh-century England; a scandal· tlon professor at the University of
cnlled "snooping."
ridden scheme In Arkansas In 1969, Wlsconsin.MadisDn who has spent a ance of school employees, quickly
Most large urban school systems
expanded to other'citles, according
which offered s.tudcnts transistor Ta· decade studying Incentive programs:
that experimented in the 1970's with
dlos In return for higher test scores; "The sad thing Is, you could get to several education scholars. The Incentive plans eventually dropped
and the Incentive plans abandoned much more acceptability with the Texarkana Incentive system was them, althnugh merit pay plans sur·
soon mired In scandal, with compa· vlved and succeeded In some affluent
by scores of school districts around school·based !)onus programs." the country In the 1970's.
Professor Odden said such pro. nil'S caught teaching to the test and districts, where pay scales are al
But the version of merit pay that grnms In Philadelphia, Boston and cheating, and school districts gave ready higher than In the cities and
Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani Is pro-: Memphis and In North Carolina were up on President Nixon's plnn.
where students tend to do well.
Arkansas was only Qneof many
posing, one that would reward city leading to better performance.
Denver Is one of a few urban dis·
teachers with bonuses based on their
When Incentl\'e plans for teachers places that have seen Incentive plans trlcts to revive merit pay in recent
students' test scores, has spurred first emerged in this country, about a fail amid cheating and scandal. In years, but it Is too soon to tell wheth.
political turmoil In other school sys- decade after school des\:gregatlon, ,the British experiment with merit er that progrnm will succeed, Pro
terns, and Its Impact on student President Nixon, sounding a lot like pay, In 1710, teachers, were so deter· fessor Odden and other experts said.
achievement Is largely untested, Mr. Giuliani today, touted his pro
mined to receive pay raises that they
"It's very difficult to do well," said
education experts say. Most Incen-, gram as a way to 11ft poor urban had their students memorize reading Kathy Christie. who runs the Infor
ttve plans have used supervisor eval- students out of academic failure and passages for English tests, accord· mation clearinghouse for the Educa-
ARer 3 Ce,nturies,
DebateStill Rages
A laraely untested
ncept becomes
issue in the ClintonGiuliani race for the
U. S Senate
(;1
.:::".
'!)e
,.,.
~
~
,!,<
".'
<:::'
~
0
).
;g
t::
...
$!>
8
<:>
~
,
(;1
...,.
=
-'
'\1\
, ".
tlon Commission of the States, a non·
profit policy group in Denver. "It's
difficult to design. U's difficult to
make sure It's fair, and U'sdlfficult
to fund over time."
'In Denver, a two-year pilot pny·
for-performance plan approved last
fall was to involve 450 teachers;who
were to be paid $500 for signing up
and $1,500 more annually for reach
Ing certain goals, including improved
scores.
The pilot plan was supposed to
start In November, was delayed until
January, extended to four years and
has so far Involved only 12 of the
district's 104 schools and 350 teach·
ers. Some Denver teachers said they
were worried that the school distriet
would run out of money If too many,
received bonuses, a problem many
distrIcts faced In the past befor~
giving up on Incentive plans.
,
Still, some partiCipating teachers
said the Denver program was en
couraging them to pay more atten·
tion to student achievement. "I think
you focus more now on what your
objective is," said Sue Sterkel. a
math teacher for disadvantaged stu
dents at Columbian Elementary
School In northwest Denver.
The question of whether merit pay
discourages teachers from working
with low achievers Is, along with the
possibility of educators' cheating or
using other tricks to raise test
scores, at the root of the debate over
financlnl incentive. plans.
,
"Merit pay Is ridiculous, and the
reason It's ridiculous Is that it dis·
courages teachers from taking class
es that are difficult," snid Judith
Gabey, a senior English teacher at
Murray Bergtram High School for
-Business Careers, In Lower Manhat·
tan, referring to a school considered
one of the best In the nation. "If you
work at Stuyvesant for merit pay,
you're going to get your merit pay."
'l
"
~~
~
t'
't'
Y
0\
�The American Medical ASSOCia
By LAWRENCE K. ALTMAN
tion .supported the conference by
IOWA CITY. April 9 - By cultivat· awarding doctor participants credits
, ing marijuana and testing the most toward their continumg education.
. <1.) promising of its mOre than 100 ingre
No government officials were
dients, a British pparmaceut:::al among the 250 patients, doctors,
company hopes to develop drugs for nur~~~ and lawyers who attended the
a variety of ailments, a company conference here and at telecasts in
offiCial said at the first national con- seven medical centers in the United
'ference for health professionals States and Canada: Dr. David Satch- :
about the medical usesof.marijuana.
The privately owned company" cr, :he surgeon general of the Public
: GW Pharmaceuticals 'Ltd. of Salis- Health Service, d~clined an invita
; bury, England, is "trying to turn an tion, Ms. Mathre said. ,
illegal plant into a pharmaceutically
In a government-commissioned
regulated product" by, developing study a year ago, the Institute of
cannabis-based medicines that are Medicine of the National Academy of
not smoked, said Dr. David C. Ha- SCiences said that some of the ingre
dorn, the company's North Ameri- dients in marijuana were potentially
can medical director.
effective in treating pam, nausea and
GW is studying what it believes severe weight loss from AIDS. The
will be the most promising ingredi- , iristitute also urged rigorous testing
ents of marijuana in a structured ; of marijuana for other ailments. '
research program. ,
I' Dr. Hadorn of GW PharmaceutiEarlier this month, the British I cals said his company was concen
'government approved the compa- trating on eight prinCipal ingredients
ny's plans to advance to the next of marijuana. The amount of these
stage of testing, for effectiveness, ingredients, which are members of
among people with multiple ,sclera- 'the cannabinoid group, varies in
sis, spinal cord injury,and other con- each naturally grown plant~ To
ditions that produce severe pain and standardize the amounts, GW has
muscle spasms.
,
cloned, cultivated and harvested tens
Six healthy volunteers had taken"
four different preparations several of thousands of marijuana plants in a
times over a period of several weeks gr,'enhouse at a secret location in
~ ,in the earliest phase of testing, for England.
~ : safety."
"We are the only people in the
! Full-scale testing will eventually world licensed to' grow pharmaceuti
So.. 1'\ , mvolve about 2,000 patients in Eng- cal-grade cannabis," Dr. Geoffrey
\.AlJ land, Canada and the United States, Guy, who founded GW Pharmaceuti
and the hope is to develop a licensed 'cals in December 1997, said in" a
product by 2003, Dr. Hadorn said.
telephone interview today. He added
• ~
1"""\
The University of Iowa's ,colleges that the National Institute on Drug
~ of nursing and medicine sponsored ,Abuse in the United States grows
the twci-day conference to help health marijuana, but that it is not, stand
~
care professionals and providers ardized for pharmaceutical grade.
C1) i learn how to obtain and properly use
By cultivating cannabis under
K.. medical marijuana.
,highly controlled indoor conditions,
~
Melanie C. Dreher, the nursing GW hopes to satisfy criteria set by
C1) school's dean, said ,the conference the Food and Drug Administration
1""'1 was needed because thousands of and similar governmental agencies
~
Americans use inarijuana medically worldwide so it can eventually mareven though it is illegal in most ket the most effective combination of
~ states. Voters in at least seven states ingredients as .prescription drugs.
1"""4
(Alaska, Arizona, California, Colora- Dr. Guy estimated that it would cost
~
do; Nevada, Oregon and Washington) at least $16 million to market the
have approved initiatives intended to first marijuana product.
'1"""\
make marijuana legal for medical
To avoid the dangers associated
~ purposes: But many doctors are with'smoking, GW Pharmaceuticals
afraid to recommend It because the aims to develop nonsmoke delivery
federal government has threatened: systems like inhalers and lIebulizers.
to prosecute them.
' The company is starting with prod,
Dr. Dreher, who has researched ucts that are: absorbed after bl':~g
marijuana use for many years,'
sprayed under the tongue and is ini
spoke in an interview of one of her
nurses' experience with the father,of
tially concentrating on the compo
'.
nents known as THC (tetrahydrocana man with cancer.
The father told the nurse that rna·
nabinol) and CBD (cannabidiol), Dr.
, rijuana had eased his son's nausea
Hadorn said.
GW Pharmaceuticals hopes to
and pain at home. Taking the hint,
the nurse rigged the son's intrastart ~esting on a small number of
venous tubing to a wheelchair to alpeople in the United'States later this
low them to' go orr while the son
year, Dr. Guy said. The company has
smoked a marijuana cigarette. The. held discussions with all appropriate
American'agencies, but Dr. Guy de
therapy allowed the son a more comfortable death.
c1ined to say where the tests would
All drugs have both potential hazbe conducted.
' ards and benefits. But a critical prot).
Dr. Juan Sanchez-Ramos of the
lem in the case of marijuana 'is that
University of South 'Florida in Tampa said he learned about GW's ef
doctors and nurses have not been
trained in its medical use.
forts at'the meeting. .
He said h~ hoped eventually to
"The challenge is to quit using
Illegality as an excuse not to discuss ,determine whether an ingredient of
medical mariJuana," said ·Mary
Lynn Mat~re, an addictions nurse ill
marijuana could help in Parkinson's
disease by controlling the unwanted
the University of Virgmia .and' coconstant twisting movements that
director of the Iowa conference.
With her husband,~1 Byrne, Ms.
often develop among users of a drug
called L-Dopa.
Mathre founded Patients Out of
Time, a nonprofit group based in
Dr. Sanchez;Ramos said ParkinVirginia that promotes the legal use
son's disease patients who claimed
of medical marijuana and that· relief after smoking marijuana gave
'him the idea of studying the drug for
helped organize the conference.
that condition.'
.
,--'.'rn
'til
~)
o
O
cO
8
O
U
MONIM Y. APRIL 10, 2000
�By DIRK JOI;INSON
. CHICAGO. July 5 - Breaking with
union leadership; the nation's largest
CI) teachers' group today soundly reo
Q) jected the use of job performance
~. evaluations in paying bonuses.
Delegates to the National Educa
tion Association convention, meeting
in Chicago this week, scrapped the
. Q performance proposal by a voice
f'Vi\ vote and head count after many
--... rank·and·file members expressed
Q. concerns that it was unfair to teach
....... ers and to the children who most
need excellent teachers.
~
"If teachers compete for bo
C::nuses," said Barbara Kerr, a dele
Q gate from California, "who will want
.~ ·to teach the pOor students. the stu·
- - dents who don't speak English
well?"
.
Leaders of the union, which repre
........ sents 2.5 million members and tWO
thirds of the nation's. teachers, said
i;) many local unions had already nego
r '" .. tiated such job performance con·
--... tracts. Under the union plan, such
performance evaluations would not
~ rely on student scores on standard·
.., ited tests, and would be implemented
-only with the guidance of· teachers
,.,. themselves. As an example, support
"'" . ers of the proposal said a diStrict
~ might. pay bonuses to teachers who
speak two languages or who com·
plete technological training.
~ .
Tim Dedman of Kentucky spoke in
-...; support of endorsing the option for
" " local unions to negotiate for job per
f'\W
formance bonuses.
......
"We don't have the. right to dic·
_ '" . tate" to union locals, Mr. Dedman
......, said. "I trust our members to do
Q what Is rtghL Let's give our memo
bers the OexibiUty they need."
Tbe Job performance Issue Is also
being studied by the Dation's other
large teachers' union, the American
• """ Federation of Teachers, which Is
_N
holding Its national convention DOW
......... in Philadelphia
Some teachers' unions around the
• """. country, Including those In Denver
and Columbus, Ohio, have already
entered into agreements with school
::s
c::
o
::s
o
c::
I:
t:
O
--S
btl
c::
c::
.....J
districts that give teachers bonuses
if certain goals are met.
The idea ot such cash incentives
has become popular around th~ coun·
try as business leaders and poUti·
cians have called for higher stand
ards in primary education.
Both expected presidential nomi·
nees, Gov. George W. Bush of Texas
and Vice President AI Gore, have
made education and better schools a
major issue of their campaigns.
The vice president, who on Tues·
day received the endorsements of
the two national teachers' unions,
has proposed spending $115 billion
· over the next 10 years on education,
including $8 billion to recruit a mil
.lion new teachers and $8 billion· more
to increase teachers' salaries.
Governor Bush has also devoted
considerable attention to education
to woo swing voters and has pro
posed a five-year, SU bUllon plan to
· improve teaching. Part of that would
go to greater financing for teacher
training, as well as bolstering a pro
gram that recruits retired military .
personnel to become teachers and a
plan to allow a tax deduction of up to
· $400 a year for teachers who spend
their own money on supplies.
In the· debate today at the union
meeting both sides said they sought
to increase teachers' salaries over
all, noting that starting teachers in
1998,1999 earned an average of less
than $27,000 a year, far less, they
said, than recent college graduates
with Similar credentials.
But opponents of the job perform·
ance proposal said that school dis·
tricts would use the Issue to lower
overaU salaries.
. "00 we want to send a message to
state legislatu~es and school boards
that we are willing to negotiate pay
for performance?" asked Robin Hol
combe of New Jersey.
Tbere was no debate over the
union's longstanding opposition to
merit pay, salaries based on evalua
tions by administratorS or evalua
tions based on students' test scores.
Bob Chase, the union president
who supported the Job performance .
option, said be did not take the vote I
as a rebuke of union leadership.
"We had union leaders on both
sides, and we knew it would be
close," he said. "But this was an
issue that needed to be debated. And
I don't think it's an issue that's going
to go away anytime soon."
.
I
'.
ebe~e\l.l-otk~nnes .
.
,
.-~
..
THURSDAY, JULY d, 2~
;
,"I
�Merger or Not, Executives'
At, Sprint Can Still Cash Out
'.
.
To be sure, Sprint wan'ted to' en·
_~_B_Y_L_A_U_R_A_M_,_H_O_LS_O_N ___ ' sure that its top team did not leave.
_
Integrating two cultures during a
With the merger between Sprint merger can be tricky. So, some top
and WorldCom all but called off, the ranking executives, including Wi!·
question is whether Sprint execu· Ham T. Esrey, Sprint's chief execu·
tives are going to stay and, U so, for live, signed agreements to defer ex- .
ereising shares early in exchange for
how long.
When Sprint shareholders ap Sprint's offering them even more
proved the $115 billion deal in April, optlons,said E. J. Holland, Sprint's
the merger agreemept specified that vice president for' compensation
most' of Sprint's stock options out· benefits and labor relations, In his '
. standing - including those given for ease, Mr. Esrey was given an addi~
shares in the common stock and the tional option on 216,000 shares of
wireless operations - would become Sprint common 'stock and 216,000
.(ully vested and exercisable. What shares of the cellular operations, ac
does that mean? It means that Sprint
,
cording to merger documents.
executives who were given stock op
But If the deal between Sprint and .
tions as an incentive to stay with the
company, can cash them in and .WorldCom falls apart, those options
leave.
,
are also fully vested and exercisable.
Sprint has already seen some high- Mr. Holland confirmed. As a reSUlt.
level executives depart. In May, Kev. their effectiveness becomes moot.
In Brauer, who was president of analysts said. But Mr. Holland
Sprint's National Integrated Serv- warned that getting options is not a
Ices division, left after 17 years. Two bonanza For example~ the exercise
weeks ago, Sprint said that Andrew price of $61.94 for the deferred op
Sukawaty, the former president of tions is higher than Sprint's current'
the SPrint. PCS GrouP. would leave stock pnce of $53.50. For most execu·
. the company to join Callahan Assoel· tives granted options In, 1997. 1998
ates international, a firm that in
vests In communications and enter. and 1999 that is not an issue.
tainment ventures. And more defec.
In a memorandum to clients. the
law firm of Wachtel!, Lipton. Rosen
tions are rumored each day. -.
TypIcally at Sprint, lID executIVe &. Katz suggested that corporate ex·
there said, options vest over four eeutlves review rules on their stock
years. But With Sprint's future DOW option plans. WhUe It may be appro- .
uncertain, competitors View this as pnate for some corporations to vest
an opportunity to swoop In and lure options early. wrote Michael S.
away SOme crucial talent, analysts Katzke. "for many situations where
there are signUlcant reJUlatory or
said.
"
"Certainly. you always want tootber Issues that may delay e1osl.ng,
give people not only lID Incentive for such provlslons may not be Suit·
staying. but for staying enthusiasti. able."
cally," said Richard Klugman, a tele
communications analyst at Donaldson. LufkIn &. Jenrette. "When people
become vested It becomes that much
, tougher because they can seethe pot ;.
,:,: ;,
: oflOtd."
€lJt~tUIGrk~mlf.'
THUR~DAY, JULY ~ 2000-'
�Latest Move to Aid
has pro~l:iimeo that daunti;,g ta~k
California'S Ailing
, as his "first, second and third prior·
ity."
For veteran. credentialed Cali·
fornia teachers.
an aver
Education Syste171 '.
age tlf S50.flOO a who earnproposeo
year, the
Greeted Skept.i~ally
Ll.x break:ofwould amount to a cash
windfall nearly $1.400 annually.
just before he announced it last
week, is his most unusual move \'et
on education,
.
, . D<lvis is comparing it to Presi.
dent Dv.ight D. Eisenhower's ded.
sion in the 1950s, in the initial
stage of the tense space race v.ith
th~ Soviet Union, to give free feder-. '
'Beginning teachers would reap
ally linanced tuition to any colJege
student seeking a degree in engi- :
ahout ,$500 in tax savings' eJch
neering. '
',
year, Th~ ,tax exefTIJ:ition would
LOS
ANGELES-CaIifornia cost the ,slate about $500 million a
"I say in the year 2000 there's no
profession more valuable to Amer.
Gov, Gray DaVis (D) wants to give year,
ica's economic and national securi.
But money is harrUy the issue be
an extraordinary cash gift to aU of
the state's public school teachers.
cause these are gold rush days in
ty than teaching,~ the governor
But they harrUy sound thrilled
told reporters last week.
California. Its booming economy,
Aides to Davis say the tax break
about it.
fueled by the explosive growth of '
would help California solve one of
,Vov.ing to. give the profession software and Internet companies
new'stature, Davis wants to ex· 'headquartered in Silicon Valley,
its mosturgent problems: attract
empt the nearly 300,000 teachers
has produced' a state ,surplus of ,ing good teachers, The state esti
in Caliiornia\ public schools from
nearlv $12 billion this year. And mates that it will need to hire sever
Da\i~, whose' popul;lrity has re al hundred thousand teacher~
ever paying state income tax, It
would be a tax·break unique anlOng mailledhigh since his landslide vic· during the next 10 years because of
,the states, ben~fiting no other oc
tory in November 1998. want!' to its rising population and the fact
cupation, and, Davis contends that spend a sizable portion of it onpub
that a large ~rcen~ge of i~s cia!>;:,·
it would send, a resounding'mes
lie schools, Along v.ith the tax ex: ,room corps IS neanng retirement
l>Jl!e to the' nation that improving t'liJ!1Lnn he is proposing for teach- . , age. ,States ac:os;s the country are
~
public education and rewarding ers. he recently announced plans to bra~lng for sundar troubles this
. . . . . "teachers should be a priorit}' sec
,
give schools all additional'$1.8 bi!. decade.:
ond to none.
lion this year to help fund teacher
Earlle:- t~s year. Davi~ also pr~
. Now if only he could find more pay raises and other classroom posed. o!fenng prospective teach·
ers WIlling to work in troubicd
"suppbrUor the plan, Since Davis needs.
~hools financial incentives. ~dudCalifornia has the nation's larg
unveiled', it last week. it, has been
gr<'Ctl-d v.ith skepticism from many est and most diverSe:public school' mg $10,000 loans for, buyml! '~
state lawmakers. both Demacrat system, v.ith nearly 6 million, stu. " home, $U,OOO ,loans to repay col·
and Republican, and anxiety from dents. 'But immigration and pop lege de~ts, ana $30,000 ~u,;cs
, \II..J teacher unions.
ulatiOIl growth are also making it ~orthe":"llng advanced certification
1.....-.1
"'Ibe governor's heart is certain- one of the most overcrowded. m ~ tea~hing subject.
Califorma. lawmakers WIll take
~
Iy in the right place, but I'm not, Strict, voter-imposed limits oomis-'
hearing a lot,of enthusiasm for this 'ing property fixes; the chief source up those m~asures and the ~eacher
rl'\
so far," said Wayne Johnson. presi of funding for public education, al-, ,tax exemption p~oposaI thl~ sumdent of the California Teachers A::r so have left many schools desper- ' mer, But the ranki:ng Republi~ ~n
\J1..J.
, ~ '\
wciation, one of the most powerful ately short of resources such as the ~tate ~nate, ~\m Brulte, said In '
~' interest groups in the state, "Teach· new textbooks. California's scores an mte~,ew, ~nday ':hat after a
ers are saying they don't Yr.l1lt to be i~ core subj~cts such as readin'g are wet;k of.lntenslve p~blic debate in
singk-d out as Sacred cows and put dismal, as low now as student Caliiornla about the Idea, the pros
~bo\'" police officers?r firefighters. score, in the p()()~est states.
.
peets for the ta'C break in Pilrticular
i. ~
Some would rather Just keep pay.
Just last \\'eCk the American do, not look good-even though
' ing their taxes and get PilY rai~s: "
,Democrats have majorities in both
.
,
" '..
Another smaller teacher union. CIVil Liberties Umon and a coal!· houses of the legislature.
,
,,;~
the California Federation ofTeach·tion ~f ciVil r!gbtsgrouf;>s su~ Ca~· ~\ -I hPl,ieve most people in the
.. ;
. ers, already has expressed formal fornla, aIlegmg that dlspantles m ' state thmk our teachers are un.
~ ~. opposition to the true break, l\3~ing the public ~hools ha\'e, become. so derpaid, but they do not want to
• fIIZlIIII
U::11 it prcier~ ,the money that e,x.treme that t~ey ~e unconslltu- gJVt them a special tax bre.JK.·
, wOl:ld be set a,,,ide for.it be spent iii· ,tIO~a! .. The CaIiforn13 Teachers As- ' Brulte said. "Pitting one categon'
__ ~~ff~I:" on salaries or schools~ :\!ean:. _~, also h.as beel),tru:atem~g..;.. oL~P.,3y'~~~gainsLano.thcrjsb:.;d~~'_~ _ .
.
, - - ' while, senior lawffiakers are warn· in recent mo~Uls to sponsor a oa!- pubcy. Its actually creating a rlL
fIIIIot:II
ing that creating a t.lx break for one ,lot measure in November that. if sentment against public, !\Chool
~
group of public employees'could ,a~proved. w~uld fon:e the state to teachers.
,set a dangerous, expensive prece nuse per-pupil s~ding, ,
.
B~te 'said Republicans, may
dent, The legislature's nonpartisan
Last year,. anud growm~ pubhc camp3lgn to extend the tax break
budget analyst is Calling the plan' outcry. DaVls and the le~sl.ature to all of Caliiornia's public employ
Oawed, and labOr groups re took an array of steps to raise aea· ees.
pr('$C1lting other California public ' demic standards at all grade levels"
Bustamante ~d Davis w<,l.
'employees also are criticizing it. to gl~e schools more money and to comes the looming debate. "He i,..
':-i:~ r::;:~!iol1 b< :,!::rtlpl:. hI:! :1(". ref]Ulre tou~er, e'\'3luatlon!' of intent on improving educatio!: i!~
dispirited, th7 Davis admini,;ua· . teache~s" DaVl~ ~as eve,;t ~!~~gt:~ Ccl,iioniia. he sai~, "and he firm!,'
liun.
.. not to,~ k rede{'.lOn ~n _O~_ II ~tu b<.'h~ves that maklllg t~3\:h;n!:! t:.x,
dt,"t tt:st ",:ores 111 California du nOl frl't: IS one way to du it:
"\\'t"r~' !:'lin~ 'tu fig!H for ,I:;. ,
. Unpi\,\'t:.
said Michal"! Bustamante. a spokl'S
But the new ta.'t break proposal.
man for the gon'rnor,"'Ibis is a
whic'h he kept l't.'Crct from law·
I big, bold ide... It's so nowl that it
makers and teachergruups until
. mar uke a while to sink 'in, Hut we
think that when' all il'o eventually
's,1id and donl', it ....;U P$';. and it
will lZTeatly· help California corn-.
"Pl'lt:' lOr tne De'l'>l puout: school
teachers:
'
':
Tht-' proposcd Ll.'t break h the'
centerpiece of Davis's btest a~en- '
d.J to r.:vitalize the state'~ over·
crowded, faltering public !>Choob.
.....hich om."C were v.idely consilio
'"
ered to be among the best in the na· ,
lion.
,
No other issue' reson:lles more
deeply with California's huge elee-'
\orate of nearly 14 million voters '
no..... than improving, education:
poUs show. And since he took office
last year as the sute's first Demo
cratic governor in ) Ii years. Davis '
O
'z '
r"
~
~
M
;
.
,',
fibt ttla.sbington post
TUESDAY, MAY ~3. ~ooo
�Blank Cockpit Tape
Hampers Crash Probe
.
.
.
NTSB: Recorder I171proper{v Connected
By DON
PHILLIPS
u: ...,hlnlllvn Pu." Stu./Tlf'rirrr
......
=
.....-I
0-;.)
~
CTJ.
~
~
~
:=
~
The cockpit voice recorder of a
small charter plane that crashed
near Wilkes-Barre. Pa.• Sunday.
killing 19 people. ""'as not connected to a proper power supply and
did not tape the lasl half hour of
'conversation and sounds in the
:cockpit, federal investigators said
,yesterday.
;:; T.he plane's voice recorder was
\blank. investigators said. Analysis
-of ,background sounds on the re
~corder can often tell investigators
~more about what the plane is doing
;than what the p;]ots say.
... -This seriously hampers the in
,vestigation, let's face it," said
,George Black. a member of the Na-"
.'tional Transportation Safety Board
:assigncd to the investigation, He
.said the recorder itself survived the
;crash Win good condition," but reo
,corded nothing.
.' The unexpected twist means
'that investigators will be asking
;tougher questions of the plane's
.owner, MiUennium Jetstream
•Holdings Inc, of Farmingdale. N.Y..
'a small ch.arter operator that does
'business as Executive Airlines. The
'plarie's maintenance records also
:will get closer scrutiny than usual
.in an effort to detennine when and
'why the recorder was instaUed int
properly and whv nonnal check~
:did not un~over the problem.
;Tht' twm-turboprop Jetst~m
:~1 crasheod about 11:48 a.m. dun~g
'Its s('coO(I ~ttempt to land whtle
'~vm~ enj!Ule proble~ at the
\ ilkes-Barre/Scranton al.fPOr: 011
;8n o~'ercas~ and drluly day. With a
:~ .?~t,::?, !ht' 'plane was return
-:"'~ 11 ~U\:4lJ H.'Sloents ~rom a gam
:tilinl! tnp t~ Atlantic CI:Y.
. ' Black saJd the .~lane s recorder,
. JXWIe by FalJ'chiJd Aerospace,
'~s 11S-volt AC---<!r alternating
P,UTent-power, while the Jet
~ produces only 28-volt DC or
~ect ~rrent. NormaUy, when the
fairchild recorders are used on a
)etstream plane, an internal u('vice
CODverts the DC power to AC pow
. 'er. But the recorder had no su.:h de
vice.
:- without the cockpit voice re
corder. Black said investigators
must reiy on physical evidence. raidar data, witnesses and air traffic
;control radio tapes.
.
I . The two pilots reported. and at
;Ieast· one witness corroborated,
!that both the plane'i' engines quit at
:one point. Black said a simulta
ineous shutdown of both engines is
./1 very rare event,~ and that in
Vl.'stigators plan to remove the en
.glues for a closer look today and
will explore a number of possible
problems v.ith the fuel or the fuel
s)'stems. He said the engines are
wflfe-damaged but not destroyed:
. There were tentative indications
that the plane's fuel supply was not
contaminated. Black said samples
were taken from the truck in Far
mingdale that last fueled the plane,
and -a preliminary review indicates
no problem~.~
. Investigators have not yet deter
mined whether there was sufficient
fuel aboard the plane, he said. How
ever. a large post-crash fire would
suggest there was at least some fuel
.aboard .
Other possibilities, according to
aviation professionals, include
some clog in the fuel system or that
the crew might have made some
mistake in rrumaging the fuel flow
to the engines from the two v.ing
tank..~. In rare cases, pilot!' with
trouble in one engine have mistak
~nly cut off the good engint'. leav
ingthe plane powerless.
Black said the safety board has
a.:;ked the Federal Aviation Admin
istration for the original air tram..:
control tape of the plane's iinal
minutes in hopes that it can glean
so~ething from h;lc~!!,,(I1md !l('i~t'$
on that tape. The board also is
seekiug out a private individual"
who recorded the broadcasts in
hopes of obtaining that original
tape. he said.
Black declined to answer a qucs
tion whether failure to connect the
recorder correctly was a vioJ:lIion
of law saving that is still under r""
~;ew.' .
~
., ~
.. '"
CTJ.
CTJ.
=
=
=
~
{£;bt tunslJington post
TUl:SDAY,
MAY ~3.
~OOO
�As :U·S.·Debate Intensifies,
Pa)' forTeachersRi~eS' 3%
Wages.RemainLowon a White-ColiarScale
tlous debate over pay-for-perform
ance at its convention thi::, week in
Chicago. "We're seeing the kind of
movement we want to see. Hopefully
it will expand."
In the past year, Connecticut and
the District of Columbia each raised
starting salaries for teachers more
than 10 percent, the American Fed
eration of Teachers survey showed.
while Alabama's first-year pay rose
"9.2 percent, Iowa's 8.2 percent and
. Minnesota and North Carolina both
more than 7 percent. .overall aver
age salaries also shot up 11.3 percent
in Nonh Carolina, 9.1 percent in Ala
bama and 7.9 percent in the District
of Columbia.
. "It's just not high enough," Ms.
Feldman said. "If it were, we would
be able to fill all the teaching vacan
cies."
Alaska was the only state where
the average salary dropped, down 1.8
percent to $48,275. The starting sala
ry dropped $10 in North Dakota, to
$19,136.
Still, the starting salary for teach
ers has not recovered from its infla
tion-adjusted high of $26,880 in .1972,
and remains just 72 percent of 'what
average coll~ge graduates expect to
earn in their first jobs. Comparing
mid-career professionals with Simi
lar experience, teachers earn 59 per
cent as much as engmeers and law
yers, 61 percent of the salary of
computer analysts and 82 percent of
accountants' pay, according to the
teachers federation.
"i made a lot more money as a
/
.
pretty bad salesperson than I do as a
pretty good teacher," said Julie
Blaha, 30, a first-year math teacher
ill Anoka, Minn., who spent the previ
ous five years selling steel.
Steve Ray, a history teacher at
Lincoln High School in Yonkers who
!s president of the union's local, said
tie had seen a change in the quality of
teachers as the school system raised
salaries some 50 percent in the past
decade.
"Before, if you COUldn't get a job
elsewhere, you came to Yonkers,"
Mr. Ray said. "The new teachers.
we've been hiring over the last six to
eight years are top-quality people
who look at yonkers as' somewhere
they want to spend their careers."
While Yonkers previously lost
teachers to the surrounding West
chester suburbs and even New York
, 'city, "now you almost have a flip
flop;" Mr. Ray said.
New York City's starting salary of
$30,265 - 18 percent below that of
Yonkers - ranked 23rd nmong the
~f <;~ ~tpc:; ho;~~. ,,,:Ui~2 tt'\ ~" en~'!1~'
100 large cities. "ror NeW lurk LilY
thing about it," said Robert Chase, experienced teachers," he said,
president of the National Education "coming to Yonkers is a promotion."
ASSOCiation. the other major teach
ers' union, which expects a conten
By JODI WILGOREN
PHILADELPHIA, July 4 - Begin
ning and average teacher salaries
rose more than 3 percent: last year,
but they still fell short of earnings by
other college-educated workers and,
adjusted for Inflation, remain below
teacher salaries from 1972. accord
ing to a survey released today by the
American Federation of Teachers.
The average annual paycheck for
first-year teachers. in 1998-99 was.
$26,639, while teachers with an aver
age of 16.2 years on the job earned'
.$40,574, the survey showed. New Jer
sey, Connecticut and New York led
the nation for average teacher pay,
around $50,OOO,while Mississippi and
the Dakotas had the lowest average
salaries, less than $30,000. Among
cities with more than 100,000 resi-'
dents, Yonkers had the highest start
ing salary for teachers at $37,045.
"It's clearly, I think, a national
Qrnergency," Sandra Feldman, head
of the teachers federation, said at the
union's biennial convention. "We
have to ask ourselves what are our
priorities here as a nation?"
Though the union has conducted
the salary survey for h~1f a century, .
this year's release comes' amid an
intense national debate over how
teachers should be compensated.'
FaCing a national shortage of some
2.5 million teachers in the next dec
ade, school administrators and state
legislators have been searching for
creative ways to recruit and retain
high-quality people.
Alabama recently enacted a law
that will bring its salaries up to the
.national average by 200i (provided
that tax revenues remain flush). The
governors of' Cal,fornia and New
York are essentially engaged in a
bidding war, offering tuition reim;
bursements, home loans 'and incen
tives for advanced certification. Vice
President Al Gore, the presumptive
Democratic nominee for president,
has suggested strong involvement by
the federal government, with $5,000
or $10,000 signing bonuses for teach
ers who agree to work in hard-to
staff schools.
Meanwhile, Six states and about a
dozen local districts are experiment
ing with various types of merit-pay
plans for teachers. Secretary of Edu
cation Richard W. Riley has suggest
ed making teaching a' year-round
profession - automatically increas
ing the pay by abol.lt 20 percent for
<
the added time at work. 'J;, .
'" think we're seeing state legisla
tors in a growing number of states,
and governors in a growing number
J
'€bc
~t\tJ t]ork €inlt5
WEDNESDA y; lUL Y 5, 2000
�,,
By PETER MARKS
the First Union
Cenrcr in PhBadelphia and the St<1pies Center in Los Angeles are staging h,lrdware conventions. Pseudo,
.com. for instance, will have a 360degree camera taking in events all
around the arena. Voter.com plans 10
issue "smart cards" to delegates'
that can be used to gain access to
consoles that will tell them where the
j,-le night parties are. Reporters for
operations large and small will cirseem al 11ll1\"!S lhal
If the widespread expectation is
"The big difference between now
and four years ago is video," said
Chris Long. director of new media
for C-Span, which not only is provid·
ing the pool television coverage of
the convention for the networkS, but
also will have a camera in its own
booth, over the director's shoulder,
Viewers, in effect, will be able to
design their own coverage.
The populist implications of a digi
tal invasion are for a virtual catalog
of new ways to experience politiCS.
But will the appeal reach beyond the
most politically obsessed?
Andrew Kohut. director of the Pew
Research Center for the People and
the Press, answered with his own
question: "Did the advent of C-Span
lead to that much greater knowledge
and greater connectedness to Capitol
Hill? It's going to be a matter of
great enrichment to people who are
really interested in this sturf. And yet
they may be painfully small in num
bers"
'.
,
Web. site and Webzme operators
. that the summer's political conven
tions will stir up about as much ex
citement as a city council debate
over landfill fees, there is an upstart
element in the news business that
sees endless hours of fun and drama
·where others envision ennui: the'
.
press corps of the Web.
From boutique start-up venture~
like Speakout.com to virtual empires
like America Online, Web sites and
Webzines are looking to the political culare with all sorts of minicameras.
.. Because it's the Web, there will
gatherings in Philadelphia and Los
be a million different kinds of coverAngeles as potential defining mo
ments in the evolution of news on the. age," said Jacob Weisberg, political
writer for the Webzine Slate. "It is
Internet.
going to be an interesting experi-
Democratic and Republican offi
ment, and it can only make the concials say online enterprises are re
questing space in numbers no one venrions more interesting: the reo
mova! of a single, heavy-duty spot-
anticipated. Organizers of the Demo
cratic convention, which begins in light and in its place hundreds of tiny
Los Angeles on Aug. 14, say; for little spotlights."
A parched landscape for news
instance,that more than 100 Web
sites have applied, and the list is does not faze the dot-corns, which'
growing daily. So many wanted work liken the arrival of e-journalism to
stations along the newly christened another innovation in political news, ~:~n~61:1~:p~~~~~n~~eI~o~~e~t~~~~
"Internet Avenue" in the hall that
the party had to expand the area into the teleVISion camera, mtroduced 52 on the Internet they say is that a
years ago at a political convention in Site can fulfil! it~ mission by offering
the east and west wings, said Lind
. .. ' .
a perspective as broad or as narrow
sey Berman, who has a job title new P~~ladelphla.
What the 2000 campaign IS domg as its audience wants
to political conventioneering: Inter
~o th~ ter~:new media: is taking the
"It's still a cominu~al experience
net news. media manager.
The Web is even infiltrating that· new out,. said Cann Dessauer, but of significance to a shrinking
august symbol of convention cover- , e.lectl.?n ~Irector for"CNN Interac- number of people," said Michael SiI
berman, executive editor of
age, the skybooth. This year. the old- . Uve. We ve arnved,
And arrivi~g in all sizes, Inter~et MSNBC.com. "What th.e Web brings
line networks and all-news cable
oper~uons wit? vast resources, like is the ability to reach out and get
channels have new dot-com neigh
bors in the bocilis high above the . CNN s allpolitlcs.com, and even information about your specific
convention floors.
Pseudo. com, . start-ups like Voter.~om, a biparU- states that you care about, to inter
America Online and USAToday.com I san Sit~ that went onlme last Novem- act directly with a delegate, to ask a
have all been allotted booths, whose • ber, Will have larger contingents at question directly of a floor corre·
I the conventions than most newspa- spondent."
Mr, Bernstein, who is both execu
costs at the Republican convention pers, Voter.com. under the editorship
start at $20,000 but with modifica of Carl Bernstein, will have 40 people tive editor of Voter,com and a part·
tions can go much higher.
at each of the gatherings.
ner in the venture, says the vastness
The Internet has come a very long of the Internet gives it a leg up with
With the broadcast networks scal
ing back their. prime-time coverage way Since the 1996 conventions, when the people who care most deeply
of the conventions - ABC is not even only a handful of Web operations about the conventions. "We can put
were present. "I was sitting in the up a whole book if need be, put up
pr~·empting Monday Night Football
preseason games - the Web, even nosebleed seats typing on my laptop Charlton Heston on. video going on
more voluminously than the 24-hour with the college newspaper press," for an hour and a half about guns,"
cable stations, is rushing to fill the recalled Kathleen deLaskl. the direc- he said.
Still, . the dot-coms acknowledge,
void..In fact. the ways the Internet ' tor of political and government pro·
brings users closer to the process gramming for America Online. This not every site will survive the com
could become one.of the proceedings' year hundreds or more Internet re- petition in the political arena, and the
porters will be among the 15,000 re- casualties may be apparent at the
more compelling stories.
''In a lot of ways, Irs the perfect porters" technicians and support conclusion of the party gatherings.
"If we do what TV does, we fail,"
we~ '6to~," said Kerry Lauerman, staff accredited for each convention.
While reporters for some news or- said DaVid Bohrman, the chief exec
th~Washmgton bureau chief of Sa·
Ion. an pnline magazine that will ganizations work in more than one : utive of Pseudo.com, "We have to do
have six editors and reporters cover- . medium, many others will be report- something completely different. We
ing exclusively to cyberspace, in a have to almost deconstruct the pro
ing the proceedings from work sta
tions in the arenas. "rt's a story rainbow of styles, from serious to cess, give the users the feel of the
that's live, with its own peaks and satirical, from text-driven to telegen- . convention, to touch what's gOing
ic. "We're going to keep it very junk- on,"
depths,"
Of course, Web reporters face
On the convention floor, reporters ie-specific," said Chuck Todd, editor
same problems as their
for Voter,com and Evote will mingle of Hotline, on the National Journal some of the teleViSion counterparts.
print and
with the delegates. Around the hall,
Web site. "We're not trying to make There may be infinite room in cyber
pool cameras operated by C·Span
It interesting for Mr. and Mrs. Pub space but not in greater Philadel·
will send. convention images via
lic; we're trying to make It interest phia. as the convention reporters for
streaming video to computer users
ing for Republican operatives."
Evote discovered.
aro~d the country who will be able
Pseudo.c0rl1 • a "video experience
"Actually, both of them did find
to w~tch from the: a,ngle of their
on the computer," on the other hand, hotel ..space. but It's like a two-hour
choice. MSNBC.com, ,in association
will try a broader tack, carrying drive out there," said Peter Markel,
with Hotline, the online political di·
Webcasts, chats and a variety of Evote's director of strategiC plan·
gest, will produce a live hourly Web
video and audio on its Pseudopolitics ning, "That was one of the last things
cast from the convention throughout
page, which began on Jan. 24.
in our plf1nnin~ ..
.
..... .......J.
. "We're gomg to try to offer view
And America Online will have an
ers a sort of immersive experience,
open "skybox cam" trained on the
in that they ought to feel like they're
halls 24 hours a day, to provide real
.at the convention themselves," said
time transmissions from ~e crack of
Sam Hollander, executive producer
the chairman's gavel to the slosh of
.
of Pseudopolitics.
the janitor's mop.
It is as if "The Truman Show" has
The gizmos to be usecfmay make it
made its way to the political show.
I'
.
-
.. A ....
~
_
....
€bt ~t\U Uork €hnts
WEDNESDA r, JULY 5, 2000
�I"
;~
:
Teachers AgainstReforln
HE NATIONAL teachers' unions
want to be seen as defenders of public
education and advocates of reform.
But when you move beyond rhetoric, you
find them too often simply defending the
status quo, even when that status quo
means inferior education for too many.chil·
dren. This week the National Education As·
sociation, with 2.5 million members the big·
ger of the two major unions, couldn't bring'
itself to endorse a modest proposal that
linked bOJ)us pay to teacher performance.
At its national convention in Chicago, the
union also went on record opposing the use
of extra pay for "hard·to·recruit" positions
such as math and science teachers, in short
. supply nationwide. The teachers' inflexibil·
itydamages their own claims to leadership
in the reform debate.
ArQund the country roughly 20 school
.1 districts and states pay bonuses to all teach·
ers in a public school if its test scores rise.
In Denver, teachers in 12 elementary
schools went even further last year and vol·
unteered for a bonus program based on im
proving performance in their individual
classrooms. Other jurisdictions are explor
ing peiormance·based bonuses. and the
~"EA's leadership asked union members this
week' to endorse a set of standards for bo
nus compensation programs.
The proposal was a modest one. It called
for local unio~s to be involved in setting ob
je~tive criteria. It opposed relying on stan·
dardized test scores. It emphasized !hat the
T
.
system shouldn't diminish the status of
teachers who don't receive the additional '
compensation. But it was too much for the .
members to swallow. Opponents warned
.that school districts would use the pro
grams to lower overall salaries, or that
teachers competing for bonuses would flee
fromhard·to-teach students. NEA president
Bob Chase said many teachers have had to
contend with "a hostile attitude by some
legislatures. governors and school boards
that want to pay some teachers more than
others as a cost-cutting measure." The prac·
tical effect of their decision will be that local
unions that want to negotiate such plans. or
are under pressure from states or districts
to do so, will work without technical sup
port from the national union. Existing
agreements won't be affected. But the vote
sends a powerful message. and it's the
wrong one.
Yes, salaries overall should rise, both to
adequately compensate current teachers
and to attract badly needed new ones. But
in a system of professionals. as teachers
want and deserve to be considered. there
has to be room to provide incentives and to
reward exceptional performance. The
states and districts that are pursuing these
programs-and the local unions that are
working with them-recognize that new
approaches are needed to solve some of the
.public.scho,ols' longstanding problems. It's
a shame the national membership couldn't
go along.
.
Q:1)(' \\ll1st)lngton
, FRIDAY. Jt:L)'
7.
tJost
2 .0.0.0
'
�Imif'1 and the. PaieStin"ians tried to re
duce expectations of a major breakthrough
at the Camp David summit Clinton has
called for next week. Israel's prime minis
ter,said the chances of concluding a perma
nent peace pact are "like the toss of a coin."
.Amtrclk is offering satisfaction guarRussian trO:ps In*Che~nya relnforc~d
to passengers in an effort to positions after recent rebel suicide bomb
! raise the quality of its rail service,
Ings, and Putln publicly dressed down the
ORDERS PULLED ITSELF off the :
.
JArtlcle on PageA2).
defenseandlnteriormlnistersfornotensur
,auction block after four months, a '. "
* * *.
lng-troops' security. Putin makes a state-of· .
mov~ that prompted its stoC~ to drop' . China drafted rules that crack open the-nation address to the Duma tomorrow.
15%. The book retailer acted only a few' itS'telecom sector to foreign investors
Northf'rn Ir:la~d *;iuth:ritles banned a
hours a~er a group of buyout nrnis'i but don't break ties between the regula- second Protestant pal'ade amid violence that
withdrew ~a .preliJ'ninary, conditional tory body and the phone firm it owns. followed the blocking of an earlier march
bid of sq8 billion. The wit~drawal is i
.
(Article on Page A8)
. through a Catholic area. Clashes continued
a blow to the concern's management. I
' * * *.
. in ·Bf'lfast,. where British troops are on pa-'
(Article on Page A3)
'. Canal Plus fonned a venture wIth trol, and mthe flashpoint town of Drumcree.
* ... *
Michael Ovitz's APG to make 12 to 1:i
* * *
Merrill Lynch is'consldering cutting movies during the ne~t three years.
~ German);'s parliament voted to set up a
, (Article on Page, 86)
S;') billion compensation fund for Nazi·era
up to 2.000 jobs, or almost3% of its total'
" workforce,from itsbrokeragedivisiori.
'. * * *
.
slave workers, and made a formal apology.
(Article on Page CI)
Airborne freight VI'arned that sec- The fund. paid by the government and 3,000
* , '* *
ond-quarter earnings. crimped by ane- firms. IS almost 51 billion away from its goal.
Gtech Holdings said' its board mic growth in do~estiC voltim~. will be, Soccer's WO~d C';;' wli~ be held i~ Ger.,
forced the resignations of its chief,exec· far below Wall Stl eet expectatIOns.
many in 2006 after the sport's governing
utive and preSident. partly be'cause of
(ArtiCle on Page A6)body decided ag-ainst holding the touma
. poor stock. performance. The big ,Iot-·'
*. * * .
'mentinSouthAfrica. That boosts Aflican re,
" tery·service provider also warned 'its
~e!ia.sdaq c~mposlte ~dvanred semment of the West. (Article on Page A3)
'earnings will fall short of expectations. ,9704. pomts. or 2.:127" to 3960.57. 'as
... * *
.
, (Miele on Page A3)
semiconductor stocl>s rebounded.
Wen Ho Let> sought jobs in seven nations
* * *'
.(Artlcle on Page CI}
,
and had contact with a facility in China, fed·
Factory orders jump,ed 4.1% in May.,
, * * ..
, eral prosecutors said: Lee's lawyers forced
with orders for electroniC and other" America West, United and Continen- them to name ~ountrJes the ex-,Los Alamos
electrical equipmen~ surging 26.4%.
tal will undergo the first of a series of; nuclear sClenUst IS alleged to have helped.
. (Article on Page A i ) '
,red~ralsafety a~dits that w~1I cover all : YUgO~lavta'tparliame:t passed const;
,
* * *
, major U.S. camers, to begIn July 17. , ! tutionalchanges to let I\filosevic continue as .(
~BM and Compaq will sell each oth·
(ArtiCle on Page A14)
president of.the rump federdtion. Officials
ers kt>y data-storage products' and
* * *
m Montenegro, Serbia's sole remainin cr
spend SI billion over three years en sur- ,Marriott's .s~cond~quart~r· net rose partner, predicted a move to independence':
ing their systems work well together. ~1C;~,to.S126 million, reQectmg a surge
** *
.,
, (ArtiCle on Page 83)
,
m busmess for the hotel industry. "
A busload of Spanish children collided
* * * '
(Article on Page 114)
: with a truck near Soria. 125 miles northf'ast
. . Lockh£'ed I\Jurtin's military-aircraft
* '* *
of Madrid, killing 25 and bolh drivers. The
operation at Marietta, Ga'., appears to . I\-Iarketschildren were headed to a summer camp.
Stoc:ks:NYSE vol 9~3,310.080 shares. Dozens of others were hurt some serio sl
be stabilizing after an infusion of or- Nasdaq voI1.420.939,m. Dow Jones indus.
* *;
, . u y.
ders for transport planes. aggressive trials 10~SU7. off 2.13; Nasdaq 3960.5i, up . Sri Lanka Tamll rebels conreded 35fight·
cost cutting and other improvements.' 97.47: S&P 500 Index Witi.67, up 10A~.
ers died in a govel'nment offensive near
(~"icle on Page 1\4)
Bonds: (~pm) 10-yr Treas off 15/32. yld Jarfna. though Colomb<! puts the toll higher,
*
*. *
'
,.
,6.039':i:.30·yr Treas off 2:li32. yld 5,90~~. The goverumE'nt also mo\'ed to round' up an
Takeover .targf't Dime Bancorp an·
Commodities: Oil 529.98 a barrel. off 70 ~stimated 20,009 deserters fromils military.
nounced a S238 million investment by a cents. Dow Jones-AlG futures index 100.738,
.* * *
priva t P.' equity firm and named a vet· off S1.2~; DJ spot index 112.27. off 80 cents,
A5.9-magnltude earthquake struck Nit
, eran banking executive AS chairman.
Dollar: 107.46 yen, up 0,36: 1.0516 eu· aragua. killingtwo children 30 miles east of
, (Article on Pag~ 114) ,
'."""'. upO.002l: 2.0568marks, up O.OO~O.
' Managua. Authorities report heavy dam· '
.* * *
" .age to villages in the region, and fear the
A Europ£'un Unlon appeals court lipWorld- Wtde
toll may rise. Roads in the are,a are blocked.
held a record SS6'million fine against
'.
US
U 'In
Jobn F. Ken~ed/Jr. ;robablY put his
VW for seeking to prevent cross-border crease the number ofthe . . tolIIeXlcans. - plane I' nto'a fatal dl'v" becaus he 10st,VI'suai
FOX "~LL PUSH vtsas,fOI' grt'~}
, . ' EU
,<
sa,les 0f new cars v,1thm the
• '
Accor'dml' to a polic}' memorandum, the perspective during an unaccustomed night
(Aflicle on Page A8)
president.elect intends to make it priority of flight with his wife and her sister, a lederal
'.
* it ' *
'. negotiating a broad new immigration deal report says. The first anni'{ersary isJuly 16.
,Sel',eral retailers reported, dlsap· with Washington. In return for easmg VIsa
** *
p~mun~ sales for June, slgnalmg ~hat barriers,Mexico would promise unprece- _ Asoutheastern Europe beat wave killed
hIgher mterest rates and fuel pnces dented cooperation in cutting illegal immi- 2~ people as tem~eratures reached 113 de·
may, be damping consumer spending. gration.Separately, officials of the defeated" grees FahrenhE'lt msome places. Meteorolo
(Article pn Page 94)
PRI sayi! is in dangerof disintegralingover glsts say a hll'h·pressure system IS trapping
Fox's vlCtory. (Articles on Pages AS and A2) hot air masses flOWing up from the Sahara.
,
.
. Business and Finance·" :.antees
B
6
" '.Black C:.S. professionals charge both
* it i t ; ,.•,!:"
pmtirs are helpillY exrllldc mil/onties
Episcopalians are expectE'd to vote today
Jronlltoodjobs in tllfir TWill to supply Jor· on an alliance with the largest U.S. Lutheran
eigll workers to tile high·tech illdllstT'IJ,denomination. which has approved the plan,
* * *
Drug.lndustry political giVing has risen
sharply, With Republicans getting most, a
Public Citizenstudy says: From ]997 to 1999.
S2:l5.i million was spent on lobbying at the
federal leveL Mea'nwhile, Clinton blasted a
GOPpatiems' rights bill as much inferior to
a bipartisan measure. {Article on Page Al4l
The combmed j,5 million-member congre·
gation would share sacraments an.d clergy.
* * *
, Pub hours In Ireland were extended un·
til ]2:30 a,-m. from 11 p.m. Thursdays, Fri·
days and Saturdays: and 11:30 p.m. oth~r
mghts, Pubs must stili ~ose al ] 1~.~. Sun·
days. but the afternoon, holy hour IS gone.
* * *
Starr's ex·spokesman was rbarged with
Criminal conlemptaml Was ordered tostand
trial next week, Charles Bakaly. who bad re·
quested the trial. lact's charges in connec·
tion with the investigatinn of allel!'ed leaks
in the Lewinsky case, (Article on Page AHl
THE WALL STREET Jo.gJlNAL
FRIDAY, JULY 7, 2000
�, A34
REVIEW & OUTLOOK
Without Merit
" 'Standing before the teachers
union convention in Chicago last
week, Democratic Presidential candi
~ate AI Gore was in a mood for bel- .
lowing. He bellowed: ~Tm on your
side and I want to fight for the peo
ple. The other side fights for the pow
erful. That's why the big pharmaceu·
tical companies are supporting Gov
ernor Bush. That's why the big oil
companies are supporting Governor'
Bush. That's why the big polluters
are supporting Governor Bush."
So you're asking yours!?If, What's
this got to do with education? Obvi·
ously nothing. But if you'd spent the
week hanging around the NEA's con
yention, educational reform is proba
bly the last thing you'd bring up, too.
They'd have hooted their man off the
stage.
.' 'The NEA has always been intent on
standing .athwart history, and, the
teachers did a spir
ited job of it in Chi
cago. Aside from
Che usual string of
rion-education-re· .
lated liberal policy
statements, not to
mention an endorse
ment of Al Gore, the
NEA took time to
thumb its nose at VIr
tUally all types of ed·
ucational reform.
AI Gore
Claims unioll
The NEA's Repre- is in mainstream
sentative Assembly
even jacked up member dues by S5 a
year to fight voucher initiatives. This
(21l only mean that the union is feeling
tllreatened by the voucher movement.
!':'While the NEA's opposition to
fOiool vouchers has long been a
IfI.ven, the really significant event at
(}tis convention was the rank-and·
{j~s hostility to tying teacher pay to
Sf!iaent performance, which is to say,
fiie: teacher's ability to teach. How
~ai:Ucal.
~:'::!rhe union'~ leadership had already
rifalized that in the current climate of
N10rm it had to save some face by al·
~ng for uperformance pay" under'
,4& specific circumstances. But the
tMl!gates weren't buying it. Most par
etl16, in fact, don't quite realize just
h(iw much the NEA rank·and-file I'e
~n·stuck in the mind-set of an indus
H1il union. And for this reason. as go
~l and tex.tiIes,we ~USr"'C!, 60 go the
additional compensation to attract
and/or retain education employees in
hard·to-recruit positions. , .. The Asso
ciation also believes that performance
pay, such as merit pay; or any other sys
tem of compensation based on an evalu
ation of an education employee'S per
formance, are inappropriate."
There it is spelled out in black and
white: They will not act as any other
business would to.correct a labor short
age; they will not be held accountable
for results.
As a practical matter, the union is
ordering the tides to recede. The ship
of reform has already set sail, notes
Chester Finn, a senior fellow at the
Manhattan Institute and a former as
sistant secretary of education in the Re
agan Administration. "States and local
ities are going.to be doing various ver
sions of merit pay," he says. "They al
ready are."
. Jeanne Allen. President of the Cen·
ter 'for Education Reform. points to
Denver and Cincinnati. where the
unions have been pressured to accept
merit pay, and have reached compro
mises. She adds that the voucher and .
charter school movement has also
helped increase support for merit pay.
Competition is having the exact effect
it was intended to on the public school
system: it is leading parents and politi
cians to demana results..
But in the very years tha.t this re
form movement has gained momen
tum. not least among minority par
ents, the Democratic Party has made a
Faustian bargain for the in-kind politi
cal support of this big union. The result
is that Democratic politicians seem in
capable of coming to grips with what is
going on now in U.S. primary and sec
ondaryeducation.
Clinton Educat~on Secretary Rich
ard Riley, a Democratic moderate be
fore he made it to Washington. ad
dressed the convention. offered a little
bit of everything and a lot of money. He .
proposed more than $32 billion to be
split· among projects like after school
programs, school modernization and
teacher recruitment. As if the the prob·
lem is mainly money.
It is perhaps expec~ble fqr a steel- .
workers Union todemand.lligher
wages, or for a textile-workers union to .
demand betterworkingcondiUons. But
it is patently unreasonable for the na
{f~hers.
tion's largest teachers' union to de
~~Fromthe convention floor, they mand exemption from accountability.
6tl-dened the line against merit pay What a lesson for their students.
si'anificantly. Led by the larger state at
The trend in the knowledge econ
tjnates, such as California. New Jer· omy is to fix poorly performing schools
~, Michigan, lIJinois and Massachu
and it looks unlikely that this trend will .
~s, new language was.substituted be stopped.
~Ing all forms of merit pay under
But back to Vice President Gore be
fI\Y circumstances. The resolution fore the teachers. He also bellowed.
i~pted by the assembly displays stun·
"We are the mainstream majority."
rilng obstinacy, and can only speak for Maybe not for nothing is George W.
ti&elf:
.
Bush extending his lead in the early
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
:~~'The Association opposes providing polls.
.
MONDAY, JULY 10. 2000 .
�ig~
::-;
.~;:
China's Chechnya
-."
,
is by now a household , ing to address a host' of underlying
nlitne among those who foIlow the , causes for the violence these countries
W-orld's affairs. President Vladimir Pu· suffer back home. Consider tha,t the
'tin,was down that way just last week to most ardent backer of the "counterter· '
~-wow with his commanders about rorism" issue was China's President
Jiang Zemin.
ijre most recent round of Chechen
kids-including a suicide truck
Mr. Jiang played up the pretext of a
Ilomb-in which at least 33 Russian sol
regional, crisis in order to play down
diers have died. It is weB·known by problems in his own backyard-the
now that Russia regardless of circum
vast Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Re·
s't7ince labels almost any act of vio- gion. Three times the size of France,
, I~ce by Chechens as terrorist. and' and sharing a 3.350-mile border with
then justifies its o~ violence against the Central Asian republics, Afghani
cbechens as "anti-terrorist." Now that stan, Pakistan and Russia, Xinjiang,
tbls notion has been established. ter- . (pronounced shin-jyang) is home to
(onsm is becoming the stock explana
eight million ethnic Uighurs. a Turkic~
tJon for dealing brutally with internal speaking people of whom a majority
tlnrest in other. troubled parts of the are Sunni Muslims.
,.,~rld. '
The Uighurs have always bridled at
~::Certainly that's wtiatwas happen
Chinese contro\. In the last century
, ng last week. when. With terrorism on they twice declared themselves inde
i
their minds. leaders of Russia. China pendent. Inspired by the 1991 collapse
1nd three Central Asia nations-Kazak- , of the Soviet Union. Uighurs have
~an. Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan-met since then bombed Chinese govern
o1.the Tajik capital of Dushanbe. Since ment buildings, assassinated govern
t!i96, this group, known as the "Shang
ment officials and helped stage several
Five," has been meeting yearly to large uprisings, quelled only by force
ratk about common concerns. All five of the Chinese army.
,Or.these nations face ethnic breakaway
There is little evidence for 'Mr.
Wtthin. All have suffered terrorist at Jiang's oft-heard charge that "exter
ii(cks. They now blame Islamic funda
nal forces" are causing the ethnic con·
ID:entalism, spreading from places like flict in Xinjiang. China itself has
Afghanistan, for unrest within their fanned the names of res,istance. 'Chi·
a~ borders:
nese authorities have cracked down on
;~;.So. the Shanghai Five came up with , civil and religious liberties. using arbi·
a"thumping endorsement for a regional trary detentions and executions. Like
agreement to fight seceSSionist. move·. other governments in the region that
inRnts and what they choose to call "in· use repression to solve their internal
ternational terrorism:" This, includes conflicts, China risks increasing the Is·
": ~et.tjng up a joint countert~rr()rism cen· ,lamicization of the Uighur struggle.
t&- in the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek,' Mr. Jiang would then have more rea
where two Chinese officials were assas· son to worry about those "external
imated in May. This security-minded forces."
~w also pledged support for Mos·
If it's really counterterrorism that
~'s military campaign in Chechnya
the Shanghai Five wantto practice, the
Beijing's push for reunification place to start is not \\ith yet more vio
~th Taiwan. They opposed U.S.. pro
lence and repression against their own
pOsalS for a national missile defense minorities. The real answer is to pro
~stem."
,
,
vide the open markets, democratic sys
, ~;.:Time for a time out. ,Counterterror· tems and hope for, some genuine im
ii;pi cooperation may sound nifty: ~ut it provement in their lot that would give
ibis much to promote Russian and Chi· minorities good reasons to want to be·
.
n~se reach in Central Asia. and noth· long.
':'~Chechnya
nat
ana
mE WALL STREET JOURNAL
MO'NDAY, JULY 10, 2000
I
�;lepiCtin g life in ~he ocean. a caged coc?on . Last vear. Ms. Abad brought home a fel·
about to hatch mto a butterfly, spelling
'h
h ' d r t meet her
lists and science projects taped to the low teac er s e \\ as a mg 0
walls. In class she is attentive and in con. family. "Lose him," her mother, a pharo
11'01, moving C;om table to table, prodding ~ac~st, declared tartly. :'DO you wa~t ;~
students in their work. .
.' lIve m the poor~ouse ,the Iest of yo~r hfe.
"if my day were just the hours between,' The alternative, thou~h, d~e,sn t appeal
7:45 when the kids come and 1:50 when' to her. At a happy hour m a SIl',con V.alley
they leave, that would be great." she says. b~r one evening, she recalls, an engmeer
Students are dismissed by 2 p.m., but s.ldied up to her and began to make small
most days, Ms. Abad doesn't leave until talk. Then he asked her what she does.
five because of staff meetings, committee'Tm a teacher," she said.
me.etings and preparing for the' next day's,'
"Why are you a teacher? You're so
lessons. Two evenings a week, she attends bright."
.
kick·boxing class. She carries her "teacher
Ms. Abad declined the offer for a date.
bag" home every night with extra paper- , "It's in'your face so much," she says. "In
work: plans for a field triP. laminated pic-\ Silicon Valley, a lot of who you are is mea
tures that need to be cut out for a class pro- ; sured by your income."
.
ject, student journals that Ms. Abad reShe teaches summer school for the ex
sponds to every day.
. tra money, but still she says, "I totally
"She's a natural," says Mr. Davis, the· stress myself out when Ibalance my check·
·prillcipaI. "She engages kids and moti- book." She estimates that she spends $20 of
vates them. She's enthUSiastic and ani- her own money every week on classroom
mJted."
, supplies. On a recent trip to a bookstore,
Ms. ~bad says most of the p~ren:~, of: she picks up two books for the week's pro
her 20 fIrst-graders are supportIve. 1m: ject on oceans. "I probably shouldn't," she
slIre some would do my laundry if I asked i says
.
.
them," she jokes.
But sometimes, she says, they step over
Last year, her parents gave Ms. Abad's
the line between interested and intrusive.· younger brother, who makes nearly six fig
One day last month, parents interrupted ures a year as a lineman for Pacific Bell, a
class three times to talk about issues in- down payment to help him buy his first
volving their· children, even though Ms. home. They offered the same to Ms. Abad.
Abad gives out her home number and will- But she told them that on a teacher's
ingly schedules conferences before or after salary, she would never be able to afford
school.
paymentson a home in Silicon Valley.
While several students clamored for her
When Ms. Abad decided to become a
attention, Ms. Abad recalls, one parent teacher after graduating from college, her·
spent 10 minutes discussing problems her mother and stepfather enthusiastically ap
child was having with homework. Later in proved. "They were very proud of me," she
the morning. a pa~ent dropping off a late, says. "I was in a profession that realIy
child began an Impromptu conference \ made a difference."
about her c~i1d's progress. And 10 ~inutes
Now, her stepfather prowls the Sunday
before the fl~al bel~ of the day, a third par-; want ads, calling Ms. Abad with the names
ent walked m to pIck ~p some classroo~; of companies willing to train new hires. At
hando~ts because ,~he happened to be III I her goddaughter's first communion re
the,~elgh~Orh~od..
.
cently, Ms. Abad was teased by her mother
. ~. don ~ want to ~ut off communlca- about never having enougb money and be-,
t1~n, . Ms. Abad says, but what are people ing ")'ust a poor teacher." Her aunt who
tlunking?"
I
' .'
Several times a month, Ms~ Abad gets ~orks for Hewlett·pac~ar~. took her aSIde.
together with some college friends. Four All y,~u hav~ to do IS gIve me your re
work in high tech. make significantly more I sume, she saId.
money than Ms. Abad, and often urge her
As the ~nd of t~e month rolls round. Ms.
to switch careers. Another is a fourth-, Abad aj!atn e-mails her mother and stepfa'
grade teacher still living with her parents
because she can't afford a house. The New
Economy friends, she says. plan to send,
their own children to private school or:
"have the nanny home-school them."
''I've done all this training," she says.:
"This is my job. I don't want to have to wait
to marry some Silicon Valley guy to be
comfortable...
I
I ... .
I
ther for money. Her mother e-mails her
agreement, and adds: "If you want to
move back home, your room is ready."
"I don't think that's OK at 28," Ms.
Abad says.
Prodd~d by her friends and family, she
has begun updating her resume, still un
sure what she will do. "It's a summer of
making decisions," she says..
Back at school. before a staff meeting,
Mr. Davis takes Ms. Abad aside. With re
tirements and transfers,·he must hire 10
new teachers this summer. He under
stands the tough conditions Ms. Abad is Jiv
ing with: His own son will become a
teacher next year in Silicon Valley and is
planning to Jive at home.
"You are coming back next year?" he
asks.
"I'm planning on it," she says.
On her desk, Ms. Abad finds a note left
"by one of her studellts. She picks it up and
reads it. In the careful printing of a sev~n'
year-Old, it says: "If I had to pick my fa-'
vorite teacher, it would be you,"
2-/~
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
TUESDAY, JUNE 20, 20~
�House Votes to Bar Clinton From Using
Veterans' Funds for Sm~king~Illness Suit
By DA\'m ROGERS
Staff Reporter oj TliF. WALL S-rn",;T
JOURNAL'
. WASHINGTON-The HOllse gave the to
bacco industry a boost in its campaign to
hamstring the Justice Department's abil
ity to sue cigarette companies to recover
federal health-care costs for treatment of
smoking-related illnesses.
The narrow 207-197 vote endorsed a
provision that would bar president Clin
ton from tapping' veterans' medical
'Standing Firm
R.J. Reynolds's chairman ~efended
his companj"s business practices in
. a Florida trial against big U.S. to
. bacco firms. ArtiCle on Page BIO.
funds to help finance the suit, now pend
ing in U.S, District Court. Attorney Gen
eral Janet Reno has warned that she will
be forced to drop the action unh'ss Con
gress makes more money available, and
accused her opponents of "trying to shut
America's taxpayers out of the court
room."
.
WieldiDgPower Over Budget .
~ . Ms. Reno's troubles are rooted in the
House and Senate Appropriations Commit
tees, where tobacco-state lawmakers wield
immense influence over her budget. With
no chance of getting enough money to go
ahead alone, the Justice Department has
asked several other agencies-aU with a
stake in the outcome of the suit-to share in
the costs.
.
About $8 million was contributed this
year by the Departments of Defense, veter
ans Affairs, and Health and. Human Ser· .
vices; Mr. Clinton's budget assumes an
other $12 million will be transferred in the
same manner in the new fiscal year begin
ningOct. 1.
.
Critics argue that the financing
scheme is im end run around
Congress-the expected cost of the lawsuit
is about $40 million for the first two years
and more thereafter. Also, any transfer of
funds from veterans' medical care, no mat
ter how small, is politically sensitive.
"These funds are. precious and dear," com
plained Republican Rep. James Walsh of
New York. "Let the Justice Department
take it out of their own hide."
The veterans lobby is itself split on the
issue, but many of the most-prominent or·
ganizatiolls. including the Veterans of For·
eign Wars, support the administration's
position, against a background of past ef- .
forts by Congress to bar disability benefits.
for veterans who become addicted to smok- .
ing while in the service.
. Lawmakers used these savings to
help pay for a major highway bill in the
last Congress and veterans recall that
the Republican leadership' went on
record then urging Veterans Affairs to
seek to recover funds from the tobacco'
. industry,
..
Last night's debate came as the House
took up a S101 billion spending bill cover·
ing not only Veterans Affairs but also hous- •
· ing, science and environmental programs:
for the coming fiscal year, Total spending •
would grow modestly, but, the measure
cuts $6.5 billion from the administration's
requests and would terminate' Mr. Clin
ton's AmeriCorps national-service prO
· gram.
The Department of Housing and Urban .
, Development bears the brunt. of these.
cuts. but smaller agencies, such as the
National Science Foundation and National' .
, Aeronautics ann Space A9ministration ' .•
would be seliously affected.
Adding to the AggravatIon
Addingto the administration's aggrava·
tion is the fact Republicans aren't even
committing to the us~ of such things as
premerger filing fees raised from industry
that help finance the Federal Trade Com- .
mission and the antitrust diVision in the
Justice Department.
.
At the administration's' request, the
House Appropriations panel last week ap- .
proved a revised fee schedule that would
increase revenue by almost half and
greatly increase charges on companies in
big mergers of over $200 million.
The extra. money would help finance
budget increases for the FTC and the anti
trust division of the Justice Department.
But the House would cut back the presi
dent's requests and spend just 60'70 of the
total $346 million in fees projected .to be
·available next year.
.
.'
The administration proposes' to use
$157 million in premerger fees for the
FTC, While the House would use only·
$121 million. The president would use •
Sl05 million for the antitrust division, .
while the House bill would use $77 mil- •
· lion.
THE WALL STREET JOlffiNAL
TUESDAY. !UNE 20, 200~
�,
.,
No R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Silicon Valley Puts
Its Teachers Through
School of Hard Knocks
ea of W, ealth, Ms. Abad'
In a S
Borrows.From Family,
~ Endures Social Insults
Engineer's Failed Come-On
By JONATHAN KAUFMAN
Sra!! Reporter o! THE
WALL STREET J OIJRNAL '
MORGAN HILi.., Calif. - Classes are.
over for the day ·at Burnett Elementary i
SchOOl in this Silicon Valley enclave, and
Tammi Abad is in parent-teacher confer- :
ence with Sherry Austin. When the subject'
of the rambunctious and sometimes dis·,
ruptive behavior of Ms. Austin'S first·:
?;'fader arises, Ms. Austin offers to buy Ms, '
Abad a copy of "The Schools Our 'Children ,
Deserve," ,a critique of traditional teach·
ing methods.
"You need to read this book," shE.
says.
Ms. Abad remains polite but is fuming
inside. She had read the book when study·
ing for her master's
degree in teaching.
"You wouldn't
go to see your doc·
tor and say, 'This is
how you should
treat my child. You
,
need to read this
book,''' the 28·
year·old
teacher
says later. "When 1
was growing up,
teachers were reo
vered. Now we are
being challenged
TammiAbad
and questioned all
the time."
In America, teachers have nearly al·
ways been shortchanged relative to other
professionals. Now, with the nation in its
longest economic expansion on record and
the New Economy creating new levels of
wealth and new class divisions, the igno·
miny is only worsening, finanCially and in :
other ways. The pay stinks. Parents are
often pushy. And socia~ status is slipping.
"Among well-educated and wealthy.
!"arents, there is a pervasive, unspoken
condescension bordering on contempt to'
ward the less well·educated and less·
wealthy teachers who work at their'
schools," says Tom Soool, former school
superintendent in affluent Scarsdale,
N.Y., and now a professor at Columbia
University's .Teacher's College. '
. Several years ago, Mr. Sobol recalls, an
outside speaker told a meeting of Scarsdale
teachers: "You represent everything in
the world the people in this community
don't want their children to be."
According to Dismal Sciences, a West
Chester, Pa.. economic-consulting firm,
U.S. teachers' average annual earnings
from 1991 to 1999 rose 19.7%, to S27,340.
That's roughly in line with the pay gains of
food·service and building·service workers
and compares with a 154% increase, for
financial·services workers, 48% for tele·
communications installers, 41% for electri·
cal engineers and 62O/C for morticians.
And once adjusted\ for inflation (using
the 22.3% rise in the col:-,>umer'price index
for the period), the wagt~Jain for teachers
becomes a loss. Small wonder, then, that
nationally, 20% of teachers\leave the pro·
fession after three years,' a\:;cording to a
survey of U.S. Census data IiY·"Education'
Week magazine.
"\,
In part, many parents' frustrati(,:, reo
fleets the sinking performance of schools
across the nation. And that frustration has
only grown when teachers, backed by
strong unions and hidebound by bureau·
cratic attitudes, are infleXible and unre·
sponsive to suggestions for change. That
resistance has prompted the recent boom
in charter schools, the growing popularity
of private and parochial schoolS,'and the
support for vouchers that would give parents more choice in choosing schools.
Here in Silicon Valley, where millionaires are multiplying apace, the division
between newly wealthy parents and strug.;
gling teachers is all the wider. Gov. Gray"'
Davis last month proposed exempting
teachers from state income taxes. And
some Silicon Valley cities are planning to
build subsidized housing for teachers, a'
gesture that vividly underscores their de·.'
ciining status.
.,'
"What am I going to do - go live in the,
'teacher projects?, .. says Steve Spencer, a!
speci~l.education teacher in town.
'
'Stepping on Our Toes'
, the phone to answer a question a.
';rmath test was scheduled. "These
'are used to instant answers," say~
RenelJe. "They feel their needs should IJ,
met immediately."
At Montciaire Elementary School in Los
Altos, relations were' until recently on a
downward spiral. CarOline Marley, a third-
and fourth'grade teacher at the school '
says, "There was an attitude that teacher~
needed to be available to parents at all
times. They would show up sometimes and
say, 'You are going to talk to me now.' It
was kind of a hostile arrangement."
Last year, parents raised $130,000 to
hire a full·time teacher and six aides to reo
duce class size and also organized volun
t
t
C'I'
eers 0 do I mg and other tasks to ease the
administrative burden on teachers. One
group of mothers now delivers doughnuts
to teachers during teacher-training days,
when their children aren't at school.
In Morgan Hill, much of the pressure on .
teachers such as Ms. Abad comes from economic transformation. Once a sleepy agri·
cultural community, its fields now bloom
with expensive new homes, More than half
the town's residents commute to Silicon
Valley jobs: A new private school, Morgan
Hill Country School, opened two years ago,
charges $7,600 a year for tuition, and has a
,waiting list for every grade.
,
. . "A lot of us would send our kids to pri·
vate school if we could afford it," says Ms. '
Austin, the parent who advised Ms. Abad
Daphne Renelle, a second-grade' on reading material.
teacher at Jackson Elementary School in.- " Ms. Austin is insistent and unapologetic. ,
Morgan Hill. adds that, "When I first
b
started teaching here in 1917, teaching a out that encounter. "I respect teachers ./'
didn't pay well, but it was a respected' as much as ever," she says. "But now
profession. Now people see us more like the ' 'more than ever, we have to really advocate .
mailman... , And we have to be very for our children. What the teacher says is :
tactful even though they're stepping on all not the final word. I feel like I am my chil
our toes."
dren's teacher also, and I have to speak up'
Afew months ago. Ms. Renelle recalls, for them," she adds.
'
she told her students they wouldn't have
"More of the recent arrivals have a pri·
school the next day because the teachers I vate-school perspective on public school,"
had to attend training sessions. An eight· says Robert Davis. principal of Burnett,
year,old girl approached Ms. Renelle and whrre test scores lag in part because about
said, "You're lucky. You get a day off."
half the school's students still come from
"No," Ms. Renelle explained. "We poor and immigrant families. "Some
have meetings. We have to be in class just prospective parents walk in the door with .
like ,you have to be in class."
proposed changes, and they haven't even :
"No,"the child insisted. "My mom said experienced schools yet. They are out mak·
you just play on those days. You don't· ing it in the dot·com world, and they corne :
really work."
in with a schedule to get the kids into .
"Out of the mouths of babes," Ms. MIT."
Renelle says.
He gestures across the street where a
A few weeks ago, a father complained large field will soon hold a development of
to Ms. Renelle after the school secretary S500,OOO homes. "Those parents will soon
refused to pull her out of class to corne to ,be in here," he says.
Many parents say that just as con- '.
sumers demand greater scrutiny of their;
physicians and other service providers, so ;
they want to make sure their children are ':
receiving the best quality of education. !
"There has to be more accountability,"
says Paul Nicca, vice president of the par· :
ent's association at Burnett Elementary. ;'
"If I don't perform in my job, I'm either i
gone or 1have to work harder. ".
:
Ms. Abad became a teacher five years ~
ag? because she always loved working with:
chIldren. She makes $42,000 a year- too lit· :
tle ever to afford a house or condominium :
in San Juse, where she grew up, or here in.
Morgan Hill, where the median housin" :
Ilrice is $400.000. Teacher salaries in Mo; \
gan Hill start at around $33,000 and top out;
at S60,OOO after 30 years. With $950 in rent:
for her shareof a two-bedroom apartment, i
monthly car payments and her student.
loan. she frequently must borrow money'
from her mother and stepfather to make
ends meet.
... '__ :
Each school day, Ms. Abad leaves her j
San Jose apartment at 6:45 a.m. for the!
half·hour commute. Student projects fill :
her classroom: a construCtion-paper mural i
!
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
TUESDAY, JUNE 20,2000
.",.,":,-",,-.
�\
l
'~\
·
frequent·guesl program. "We ne1 more
d
A rtu1L 0 dges TIl
YVIOO
propertiesto.>preJdlhecostofthe~ewards
f
program,","': says.
\
FrequentTrave1!
.
en,
Hiltonilccenlly sent out $150 coffee
table
l.llh 0 'Fee' t'ke K\' ' sionalbooks on the history of the Profes
1L
V
tngs
Golfers' Association. ThJ com
1
i
,
" . " "'. ' .
\
pany has appointed eight "Dikmond
,
",:.~ " . "
girl" concierges to help With\tr~vel
. They Represen~ .. ,I?I.g Mpney .ilrrangements and award redemptIOn,
. In a 'Commodity';Business::'I~Mr, Bollenbach fi~ures HIlton ge~~, SIX
.
, '. I '
nio-hts out ofa tYPIcal road warrIOr s 20
<$> K\starwOOd Sets' the Pace <$> ho~el-nig-hts a year. "If we canillc'rease
\
'that from six nights to seven nights. we
. .'
..
can add $500 million a •
year to revenOes,"
Bv CHRISTI:-;A BI:-IKLEY
SlalJ RI'por;"r, oJ·TIfF. WALL STRF.F.T JOURNAL he says.
\ .
Starwood, last year "awoke a sle~plng
Rarely has PhihpV. Puopolo ir.. an
auditor with a small New York acco~l1ting giant," concedes Ms. Taylor, of Bas~ Ho·
firm. felt so desirable.
:
tels. a unit of Britain's Bass PLC... It'~ bIt·
Last year. he spent 195 nights in Marri· ten us a little bit. ... I went to my man,age·
ot! Internationallnc. hotels. putting him in ment' and,said, either we need to haye a
.the front ranks of frequent travelers. Then~. worse p~ogram'and stop spending so much
Mr.Puopolo got a call from Hoyt Hal1ler. a on it. or we need to spend more on adver·
sellior executive at Starwood Hotels & . . ..
.
\
Resorts Worldwide Inc.; who promised tIS mg.
.
aU
wine·stocked suites and fawning service.' As a result. ~. Taylor and her si
"They assigned me a personal concierge, .. have been partymg a lot lately. There \fas
says Mr.' Puopolo, in awe,., He promptly, a House of Blues event at the New Orle,!ns
booked :jo nights with Starwood. Soon Jazz'Fest, a tailgate party for 1.400 a~ a
. afterward. a'Marriott.execupve was on\the , Chicago Cubs game, and, most recentjy,
. phone to' hIm. hopmg to lure him back.
i an evening at the "Where the Wild Things
. Jennifer Taylor, who oversees frequi!nt 'Are" exhibit at the 'Metreon entertain
.traveler·progra~s for .Bass, Ho.~els & 'i<~- . ment complex in San Francisco. Many
.. sorts. <:ails .It elite nappmg. a~d \t s ! t vel s ren'! yet accustomed to such
happemng around the country. RapId c~n.' ra e:, a
.
.
'\"
sOlidation .has left· a handful of ludging perks. I thought 11 was kind of weird...
companies competing for the same tniv- says attendee BIll McNIChols, a VIce pres/·
elers, limiting their ability to raise prices dent of a Marin County, Calif., enginee~·
and slowing revenue growth. So the hotel,s, I' ing firm who attended the Wil~ Thing;; ,
taking a page from the airlines. are trymg . event with his wife. "But we saId, 'Why
to outdo one another in seductive tactics! ; not?' "
. II
Favorite Customers
."
\
For Starwood, wooing the big spender~
Capturing the road warrior has turned has paid dividends. Last year, it doubled,
into the Holy Grail of the hotel business'. the number of tra,elers who, over a 12-'
Starwood estimates that a ,typical hea,,*: month period, stayed more than 25
.traveler spends at least 25 mgh~ a year III nights. It figures that crowd is worth $300
hotels and IS worth $10,000 m annual million a year to its business, and it is
revenue. "All the hotel compames have a!
,.
"
..
bounty on these guys' heads," says K.C.. predictIng big mcreases ... We set the
Kavanaugh, a Starwood spOkeswoman. . world on fIfe last year, boasts ~r.
Deals to stay in lUXUry properties in Harper. "Weblew the doors off MamoU
far·flung lands. flower·filled suiles and the and Hilton... '
aUentions of a concierge are the least of
Hilton and Marriott officials don't take
the enticements. Hilton Hotels Corp., in that lying down. Their programs are just
Beverly Hills. Calif.. takes its good cus· as good or better than' Starwood's, they
tomers to the Grammys and Oscars and say. "We're adding 100,000 people a
gelS slots for golfing clients In ~ro-~m month-and it's not just dropping leaflets
tournaments. Bass. whose properties In' .
...
.
clude Holiday Inns and Inter-COntinentals. ! :from an aIrplane, .says MamoU
has been throwing parties around the . spokesman Gordon Lambourne, who
country. Starwood just took over manage- I~hides Starwood for its "aggressive" at
men! of nine hotels in Kenya and Tahiti, tempts to sign up new Preferred Guest
mainly to offer rooms gratis. "They're members. MalTiott says Starwood
safari huts," says Barry Sternlicht, Star- i'charges" more pOints for award redemp
wood's chainnan and chief executive, "We tion to cover the higher cost of barring
want th,;m as baIt for our frequent cus· . tllackout dates,
'
tomers. sort of competition is relatively I W'th ate c0r:'pe ITlon, Starwood i,s
\1 h
This
i ,I
I
new in the hotel industry. Marriot~, which ·c?O~ng up new tactiCs. Afew w:eks ago~ It
is based in B~thesda, Md., set up one of the I~VJted five road wamors to It: Austin,
first frequent·guest programs 15 years Texas. reservatIOn center to Plc:k therr
ago, but it wasn't until StarWOOd launched brains. Laden with expensive gifts such as
its Preferred Guest program with a $50 . aitline tickets and sports memorabilia, the
million budget in 1999 that the competition
.
,
got hot and heavy. In a move to fire up its
newly purchased Westin. She~aton and.
other hotels. Starwood, of White Plains, '
N.Y., eliminated blackout dates for reo
deeming r~wards and loaded up with rich
promotions. Hyatt Hotels Corp.. in Chi·
cago, responded by ending its blackout·
date policy for·its best clients. while Marri'
oU lowered' the barriers to entry for its
elite·traveler program.
travelers had a morning's runo! the cen·
tl'r. listening in on reservation calls and
hearing presentations from St·arwoodeX·
eeutives. Then they spoured off at a lUll'
cheon roundtable with attentive Slarwood
officials.
Over turkey wraps and salad, the
group complained thq,t )~tarwood's fre.- .
quent-flier statements are:hard to use, '
that the chain doesn't· upgrade cus·
tomers as often as Hyatt does, and'even·,
that its gray Preferred' Guest 'card~
which abbreviates the word Platinum as
"PLTNM." is drab, "It doesn'iiook very
elite,'; said Steven Salta. a. product'de'
velopment manager for a Seattle high
tech firm, Starwood executives vowed to
fix all that.
I
Commodity Accommodations
"We all have nice rooms. We're all in
good locations. We a/l have g: . at service.
It's in a sense becoming a commodity
bUSiness. so everybody's looking to see
how can I stand out here. That's where the
battleground really Is today," says Marc
Grossman, a spokesman for Hilton.
Mr. Grossman's boss Stephen F. Bol·
lenbach has been touring Hilton's su~ur:
ban reservations centers and giving pep
talks. He says a big reason Hilton bought
Promus Hotel Corp. for S4 billion last year
was to add hundreds of locations to its
Please'Turn to Page A12, Clllumn3 ..
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
TUESDAY. JUNE 20. 2000
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Bruce Reed - Education Series
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Domestic Policy Council
Bruce Reed
Education Series
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
<a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/show/36312" target="_blank">Collection Finding Aid</a>
<a href="http://catalog.archives.gov/description/647429" target="_blank">National Archives Catalog Description</a>
Description
An account of the resource
Bruce Reed's Education Series include material pertaining to national standards and testing; the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and the 1999 efforts to reauthorize the Act; 100,000 teachers and class size; charter schools and vouchers; education events and forums; social promotion; Goals 2000; HOPE Scholarships; Pell Grants; the Education Flexibility Partnership Act of 1999 (Ed-flex); education funding and budgets; and various school and teacher issues. The files contain correspondence, reports and articles, memos, polls, handwritten notes, hard copies of emails, schedules, printed material, and memos to the President.
Provenance
A statement of any changes in ownership and custody of the resource since its creation that are significant for its authenticity, integrity, and interpretation. The statement may include a description of any changes successive custodians made to the resource.
Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Clinton Presidential Library & Museum
Extent
The size or duration of the resource.
133 folders in 9 boxes
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
Paper
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Teacher Pay
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Domestic Policy Council
Bruce Reed
Education Series
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
Box 95
<a href="http://clintonlibrary.gov/assets/Documents/Finding-Aids/Systematic/Reed-Education-finding-aid.pdf" target="_blank">Collection Finding Aid</a>
<a href="http://catalog.archives.gov/description/647429" target="_blank">National Archives Catalog Description</a>
Provenance
A statement of any changes in ownership and custody of the resource since its creation that are significant for its authenticity, integrity, and interpretation. The statement may include a description of any changes successive custodians made to the resource.
Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Adobe Acrobat Document
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Clinton Presidential Library & Museum
Medium
The material or physical carrier of the resource.
Reproduction-Reference
Date Created
Date of creation of the resource.
3/7/2011
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
647429-teacher-pay
647429