EDITOR’S NOTE: This story is the fourth of a series of stories examining the concept for merit pay for Oklahoma’s public school teachers.

Before state lawmakers consider any merit pay plan for teachers they should keep their promise to bring teacher salaries to the regional average, the president of the state’s largest teachers union said Tuesday.

Speaking Tuesday at a House of Representatives hearing, Roy Bishop, president of the Oklahoma Education Association, said the state ranks last regionally and 47th nationally in average teacher pay.

“We should have a compensation system that has at its core, a fair, unbiased salary schedule that pays teachers strong competitive and professional salaries,” Bishop said. “Funding for any pay plan must be reliable and sustainable. Let’s start with the regional average and then implement a plan for quality professional development and improve working conditions.”

Bishop’s comments drew criticism from Republican House Speaker Lance Cargill.

“I believe in the politics of ‘can’ and not just ‘either or,’” Cargill said. “As I read your opening statement, to me that appears to create a false choice. I think we can do both. I believe we can have funding with reform and I think that, fundamentally, that’s what the people of this state deserve. I’d like to know why you disagree with that.”

Bishop answered, saying that promises made by state lawmakers haven’t been kept.

“Historically, people sat in your position and promised us the same thing and we haven’t seen those results,” he said. “We’ve heard merit pay as being a new concept, but these programs have been around since the 19th century. They come around every 20 years, and they don’t work because the people who put them together don’t fund them. They find out that more teachers qualify than they ever imagined and then we have unfunded mandates.”

Instead of merit pay, OEA officials said lawmakers should invest in professional development. “Oklahoma teachers need the tools and resources necessary to get the job done,” said OEA Associate Executive Director Dottie Caldwell. “The success of such programs as National Board Certification and the Oklahoma Teachers Improving Math in Middle School proves that quality professional development equals student success.”

Caldwell cited the Wayland Bonds Elementary School in Moore as an example. There, she said, school principal Robert Romines implemented a professional development program which was developed by the union and funded by the State Department of Education.

Romines said the program was a “huge” success.

“Although the planning and implementation of the program was initially difficult and time consuming, the benefits are evident. Students have prospered from the efforts put into this valuable curriculum development,” he said.

After completing the three-year program, fifth grade students’ pass rate jumped to 98 percent and sixth grade pass rates were 99 percent, Romines said. Over half the students in both grades were in the advanced level, he said.

Union officials said the program is proof that lawmakers should fund professional development programs.

“We know teacher success depends on supportive school administrators, sufficient tools and resources and effective professional development,” Caldwell said.