The contract provision that forbids merit pay means New York
City teachers can’t apply for the $20k Federal bonus offered to
outstanding STEM teachers.
Bonuses of $20,000 offered by the Obama Administration as an
incentive for “master teachers” in mathematics, science and technology
have been put out of reach for teachers in one of the nation’s largest
school districts. Teachers employed by the New York City school district
may not apply to receive the federally-funded money because the terms
of the contract their union signed with the city prohibits any kind of financial bonuses for outstanding achievements in the classroom.
