California Insider

A Weblog by
Sacramento Bee Columnist Daniel Weintraub

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April 19, 2005

Transparency

This modest little bill by Sen. Joe Simitian just might open a huge can of worms in the years ahead. It would require local districts to report how much they are paying the teachers at each school. Doing that would reveal that most of the time, teachers at schools serving disadvantaged and immigrant kids are paid less, mainly because they tend to be less experienced. This might then lead to policies offering incentives for more experienced teachers to work in those schools, or lead some to argue that more experienced teachers are not necessarily better teachers. Which would then lead some to question why they are paid more. You get the idea.