PSS proposes $1.5K pay hike for PRAXIS passers

A Public School System proposal wants to award teachers who successfully hurdle the PRAXIS certification exam with an increase of $1,587 in their yearly compensation package.

The proposal has already been approved during last week’s Board of Education special meeting and is included in the revised Compact Assistance Program for 2006 and 2007, which the board also unanimously approved during the meeting.

“The PSS proposes to reward and recognize teachers who have met both the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and the CNMI State Board of Education requirements of being a Highly Qualified Teacher with a merit increase,” reads part of the proposal.

The proposal emphasized the HQT requirements for teachers, as defined by the following criteria: must possess at least a bachelor’s degree or higher; must have attained full state certification, and must be able to demonstrate core subject knowledge on a rigorous state exam, PRAXIS 1 and 2.

The merit increase for the teachers who pass PRAXIS 1 and 2 are budgeted for all 565 public school teachers.

The PSS will also provide a step increase for those teachers who have completed 16 hours of graduate work on an approved master’s program in education administration, counseling, or a masters-in-teaching program.

The revised proposal will also provide a $1,587 merit increase for 38 teachers who are taking higher education courses.

For 2007, the Compact Assistance Program proposal narrows the increase for those who will take master’s degrees to 25 teachers.

Meantime, Education Commissioner Rita H. Inos, in a letter transmitted to the board during the meeting, said the combined two-year funding proposal would enable the PSS to make long overdue repairs for 20 public schools in the CNMI.

The commissioner, who is due to retire soon, said the repairs would include electrical upgrades at all 20 schools, air-conditioning system repairs and replacements, classroom lighting repairs and replacements, termite treatment, and building repairs.

The full two-year proposal for the Compact funding will be a combination of $10.3 million, said Inos, which would also allow the PSS to address some “critical systemic” needs of the local school system.

The revised proposal would also fund the schools’ interscholastic sports programs. Additional computers, laptops, and LCD projectors would also be acquired with the Compact money.

“The PSS wishes to close the gap in public investment in the education of our children. Dedicating Compact assistance for ’06 and ’07 exclusively to the public education of our children will help close the gap,” reads part of the proposal.

The PSS, according to the proposal, will also prepare and submit a new budget proposal for Compact assistance for 2008 and 2009 that would enable the CNMI to start a new trend in reversing the nine-year decline in investments in the Commonwealth’s education sector.