Performance Pay For Everyone

Someone sent me this letter purportedly from Arne Duncan about the new performance pay system that's being put in place, which includes principals and administrators not just teachers.

But that's not all.  The letter also outlines wholesale changes in administrative salaries to align them and attach them to performance measures, mentions a new org chart that I hope someone will share with the board, and announces that there will no longer be across the board salary raises (or not) like there have been in the past.

Talk about a brave new world.

UPDATE:  Here's some more explanation to go along with the letter (below):
Download comp_plan_announcement.pdf, Download PayPerformance.pdf

Dear Administrative Employee:

 

 

Yesterday, the Board of Education approved a new salary system for central office employees that will directly affect you and your career here at the Chicago Public Schools.  Our goal is to reward all of you who work hard.  It offers you a chance to prove your value and gives your supervisor a way to pay you accordingly.  It’s called pay for performance and it is built on the very simple concept that hard workers deserve to be fully and fairly compensated for their efforts.

 

 

We have also created a new organization chart (see attached) that will help us operate more efficiently and clarify lines of authority so we all know who is directly responsible for the work in the central office.  Our larger goal is to be as efficient as possible downtown so we can be as effective as possible in the classroom and do the best job we can of supporting our principals and teachers.

 

 

On November 20^th and 21^st, the Department of Human Resources will hold informational meetings for employees in the board chambers to explain this compensation system. On the 28^th and 29^th we will meet with managers, also in the board chambers.  (We have attached to this memo a flyer with details about the meetings.)

 

 

But here’s a little background for you to consider.  Historically administrative employees have received the same annual cost-of-living adjustments as teachers and other unionized employees.  At the same time, raises were often granted by supervisors in an inconsistent manner.  The result is that some long-time employees are paid more than the going rate in the market for someone doing the same job, others are paid less, and within CPS, two employees doing similar work are paid different salaries.

 

 

Due to our continuing budget woes resulting from underfunding by the State of Illinois, CPS eliminated across-the-board raises this year for all central office employees earning more than $40,000.  You probably also remember that last year, administrators received just 2% raises even as teachers got the 4% raises specified in collective bargaining agreements.  There were also no promotions last year as we began the compensation analysis and review.

 

 

To bring our compensation system in line with the market and make it more internally consistent, we painstakingly evaluated every single administrative job – from secretary to CEO – compared them to the market and established a set of pay bands that every employee must fall within.  All salary changes will be communicated verbally by supervisors.  Here’s how it affects you:

 

 

n If your salary is below your pay band it will be boosted to the minimum level effective September 1, 2006.  Your new salary will be reflected in your next paycheck and retroactive payments will be made on December 15.

 

n If your salary is above your pay band your salary will not be reduced but it will remain the same until your pay band catches up with you.

 

n For all other employees, your salary will remain the same for the rest of this year.

 

 

For all employees, you and your supervisor will work together to establish clear work goals and performance measures for the current year.  At the end of this year, your supervisor will evaluate your work and decide if you have earned a raise or a promotion.  There will be no more annual, across-the-board raises for administrative employees.

 

 

Whether you run a major department or work as a part-time intern, you play a key role in our school system, helping support teachers and principals as they do the hard but essential work of educating students.  You deserve to be fairly compensated.  With a school system as large as ours, we need everyone on the team working hard and working together on behalf of the children and families of Chicago.  This new compensation system should inspire all of us to work harder and create a culture of excellence that helps attract great people to work in public education.  Ultimately, because of your hard work, it will bring us closer to our goal of creating the best urban school system in America.  Thanks so much for your help, your dedication and your commitment.

 

 

Sincerely,

 

 

Arne Duncan

 

Chief Executive Officer

 

Chicago Public Schools

Comments

Someone please post the org chart. I didn't get the letter and I still don't know who I report to. Then again, I've only been working here for two years, so maybe that is premature.

3:20pm Don't be in such a hurry. Your direct report is a Broad Fellow. Name is unimportant. Also, please stop ending sentences with prepositions or you will have your salary band lowered.

Please be aware that the market rate for CEO or superintendints is well above Duncan's current salary. So I guess he gets a raise! Good job Arne, we love you over here.

Dear 6:51. Hope that applies as well to the rest of us with years of experience who are underpaid.

"This new compensation system should inspire all of us to work harder and create a culture of excellence that helps attract great people to work in public education." And here I am, working my head off, thinking great people already work in public education. Now we learn it is in fact our mission to work harder so that we may attract our better replacements. Way to improve morale, Peter.

11:54am The letter isn't for the "non-represented" employees (although it is written to them). It is for the public like everything out of central office. How about getting "represented"?

What is up with a new organizational chart? What did BCG spend months doing just a short while ago? Does anyone understand the reason behind this newest change?

1:41pm It's not new, just on paper now and ready for the world to see.

I think the performance pay is only for those in the "benchmark grades" that produce test scores.

I guess those of us who teach things like Pre-K, K, and ECSE will continue to bust our buts too but since all the administrative paperwork and "observation reports to show progress" are done by us and not a standardized test we'll never get to see a chance of the new pay system anyway.

Oh--- I guess this is a different pay for performance than the pay for performance that was spoken of a few weeks ago that will be in the worst performing CPS schools.

This is such a confusing way to do things. Thanks Boston CG. I hope no one hires you again-and working for free for CPS should have been a warning. I have worked for CPS for 23 years and have never saw it this confused and chaotic.
The health plan infor just got to the schools today and to central office. Two of the meetings to tellyou aboput the plans and selection are over already. Only one left at central office.

Oh and the one at central office is during the school day from 12 - 3. So do you think we should all take "sick days" and go downtown to see what health coverage we can get since we missed the other opportunities?

Actually, we got our packets earlier in the week and if you ever check your board e-mail, which I rarely do--- then they did get the info out that way. Though one of the days was during Elementary report card pickup.

6:08 pm The performance pay issue is for non-represented (non-union; i.e., management) employees.

11:25, the attitude of "you don't have to check your Board e-mail" is one that's on it's way out. Every company in the world communicates with its employees this way. It is the most efficient and cost effective way to get out information. I can't think of a company in the world where the boss is willing to email "pretty_lady_1955@yahoo.com" and every other non-professional address that may exist (or come and go) among employees. It's ludicrous, impossible, and unreasonable. It IS reasonable to expect an employee to check his/her company email account. Not brain science here...

Of course the Board should mail things on time, but to save a few thousand dollars on printing costs (and countless trees) every year, I'd vote for email ONLY if given the choice.

Maybe the board should expand the mailbox capacity of CPS mail. Most teachers I know have full mailboxes. Mine is always close to full because I have to store billing correspondence there. Because I am a modern corporate employee and I use company email. Too bad I work for a company that's on its way out.

No, you don't "need to store billing correspondence" in your mailbox. What you need is someone to show you how to save your mail to your internal drive instead.

Good idea. There's another thing we don't have that would make it possible to use CPS mail like in those other, real corporations.