Nevada Legislature: Bill would tighten teacher performance pay rules

Gov. Brian Sandoval is proposing that school districts get serious about performance-based pay.

The Assembly Ways and Means Committee held a hearing Wednesday on AB483, which would require districts to set aside money each year for merit pay and prevents a collective bargaining agreement from sweeping that money elsewhere.

State law already requires districts to implement a performance pay system by the 2015-2016 school year, but the bill adds a few more restrictions.

The program must provide a raise no larger than 10 percent of a teacher’s base salary that must apply to at least 5 percent of teachers.

Districts say they’ve already been working on merit pay systems. They also raised concerns that the state isn’t funding the program, but would require districts to find money in existing budgets.