Previous Story
BOE strikes pay rate for non-HQTs
|
Posted on Oct 18 2011
By Moneth Deposa
Reporter
Reporter
The CNMI State Board of Education approved Friday the elimination of the salary rate for non-highly qualified personnel from the compensation plan for classroom teachers.
Non-highly qualified personnel were eliminated from the payroll of the Public School System beginning July 31, pursuant to the mandates of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.
The revision on the compensation policy, according to PSS finance director Richard Waldo, is to certify and formalize the non-availability of teaching positions for non-HQTs within the system.
A teacher is considered highly qualified if he or she has a degree, has passed both Praxis 1 and 2 exams, and has valid teaching certificates. HQTs have a starting salary of $30,000 per annum.
Education Commissioner Dr. Rita A. Sablan disclosed Friday that there are currently about 464 classroom teachers-all highly qualified-in public schools. Student enrolment was at 11,011 as of Friday, ranging from kindergarten to 12th grade.
Although PSS has let go of its non-highly qualified teachers, Waldo said the system employs about 19 substitute teachers this school year. These substitutes are hired on a per-need basis only.
He described them as “seasonal educators” who will work for short-term periods only, such as one week or more. “They are paid $100 per day if they have bachelor’s degree and $60 per day for those with associate’s degree,” explained Waldo.
PSS officials said that student test scores on the SAT-10 have almost doubled since the adoption of highly-qualified mandate.
