The Buffalo Public Schools, to reduce the number of uncertified teachers as well as recruit new ones, are offering bonuses of up to $10,200 over a period of three years to further the education of its teachers. The funds would be used to pursue teacher certification for both new and current teachers, with an additional requirement that once the undergraduate degree is achieved, they must earn a master's degree within five years.
Out of the 4,000 teachers in the city of Buffalo, about 150 are uncertified. Federal and state laws now require that all teachers must be certified by next year; the only exceptions are young teachers still aiming for their master's degrees. For the up to 130 uncertified teachers already on staff, the district will offer a maximum of $2,100 per year in tuition reimbursement. New teachers aiming to teach in specialized subject areas such as math and science are eligible for up to $3,400 per year for up to three years. Other new teachers in more generalized areas can receive $2,400 a year for three years.
Laura Dudley, the school district director of human resources, says that this plan, which uses money funded by a state grant, is key to increasing the number of certified teachers, as well as recruiting as many as 60 new teachers to the district.
The catch is that new teachers who accept this offer must stay in the district for the three years the plan is in effect. If the new teachers fail to stay in the district for that long, they will be required to pay back the bonus that they have been given.
The mandatory three year stay for new teachers is good for the Buffalo Public Schools and for the city of Buffalo itself. By having the new teachers settle down in Buffalo for an extended period of time and earn tenure, Dudley states that they will be less likely to leave. There is less of a chance the teachers will take higher-paying jobs in the suburbs once they are comfortably assimilated into their school.
Philip Rumore, president of the Buffalo Teachers Federation, said that the teachers union only agreed on this plan if it applied to teachers in all subject areas and that the bonuses are only used for educational purposes.
The most troublesome part of this program is the lack of a verification process to track how the teachers are using the funds besides an "honor system." This leads to the question of whether the teachers will use the plan to further their education or simply interpret the reimbursement as a signing bonus while pocketing the money for personal purposes. Until there is a solid way to track where the teacher bonuses end up, the plan should not be implemented.
One possible method of tracking is for the Buffalo Public Schools to give the funds only when the teachers show proof of their current educational status. They can present a copy of their tuition bill and then receive the bonus, which will be used to pay the bill. Progress reports should also be sent to the BPS to make sure the teachers are fully taking advantage of their academic activities.
For new teachers who are already taking courses for their master's degree, the district plans to allow the reimbursement to be used to pay off college debt. However, teachers can only use the funds to pay off debt from graduate-level courses. Again, this is another instance where the BPS cannot track where the reimbursement funds are allocated. There is no way to see if a teacher's debt is from undergraduate or graduate level courses without the teachers specifically giving documentation of all their debts. Therefore, a similar system of verification must be implemented with existing teachers as well as new ones.
According to Dudley, these funds will help Buffalo become more attractive to prospective teachers. "The Buffalo Public Schools are one of the area's best-kept secrets in terms of opportunities for new teachers in high-demand subject areas," she stated. The biggest benefit to the plan, however, is that once the BPS gets all their teachers certified, the winners aren't the schools who finally have qualified employees, but the students who will benefit from those teachers.
Photo: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki
