Dallas ISD Bonuses Disappoint

$6,000 bonuses don't produce hoards of teachers dying to teach in hard to staff schools, writes the Dallas Morning News. Rick Hanushek explains why:

Eric Hanushek said most teachers won't be enticed into tough jobs for a few thousand dollars. His research determined that, for most teachers, the bonuses would have to equal about 45 percent of their base pay before they would take those jobs. If true, that means the district would need to offer more than $20,000 to draw serious interest from mid-career teachers.

"Teachers need a lot of money to move," said Dr. Hanushek, who is also a senior fellow at the conservative Hoover Institute at Stanford University. "Teachers will move, slightly, for salaries, but it's more for other factors" such as school climate, student behavior and the quality of their principals.

Further, such bonuses – sometimes called "combat pay" – tend to attract the wrong teachers, Dr. Hanushek said. "Your best teachers aren't going to take it because they have options," he said.