A Missouri circuit court judge last week ruled that a Cass County school district violated state law when it awarded "commitment" bonuses to a handful of teachers who agreed to sign two-year contracts. The Sherwood Education Association and three teachers filed suit against the district, arguing that its move violated the Missouri Teacher Tenure Act, "which requires a school board to adopt a salary schedule that applies to all teachers." Superintendent Margret Anderson argued that officials had no intention of harming the rest of the teachers, but were merely "having difficulty recruiting teachers" and thought that the "commitment fees" would help the district recruit and keep teachers for a couple of years, thereby "creating stability in the district." Sally Barker, the NEA attorney on the case, disagreed, saying, "If the school district wanted to do that, the best way to do it was to offer commitment fees to all teachers."
"Judge rules against teachers' bonuses," by Eyobong Ita, Kansas City Star, January 16, 2004 (registration required)