A new law went into effect this month that now requires every school district in Nevada to provide performance-based bonuses to some of its teachers and administrators. Reno Public Radio’s Noah Glick reports.
Steve Canavero is interim superintendent of public instruction, and he says the main goal of this new law is to find and reward the right people.
“Generally speaking, this provides the board of trustees a lot of latitude and districts a lot of latitude to provide bonuses to very specific and very certain teachers and administrators," he says, "incentives that can be specific to a group of teachers, rather than all teachers.”
Under this law, bonuses must be given to at least five percent of teachers and administrators, and the money cannot be allocated elsewhere.
The Washoe County School District estimates the change will increase next year’s budget for salaries by $1.25 million. Lindsay Anderson is director of government affairs for the district and says there’s no new funding source for this expense.
“That’s not new money. It’s from the same pot that we use to bargain salaries and pay other expenses," she says. "So instead of using it for something else, we’ll be using it for this.”
The law requires that local school board members determine which teachers receive bonus money.
