Riley's call to reward high-performing teachers draws "quick rebuke" from AEA's Hubbert

Some things never change. From the B'ham News:

MONTGOMERY - Gov. Bob Riley told a meeting of elite educators Friday that teachers who perform at higher levels should earn more, and he will push to see that they do...

"Name the one American profession that doesn't reward superior performance," Riley told the group. "Name the one profession that's having the toughest time attracting and keeping the best and brightest in their profession. Tell me another profession that doesn't reward excellence. Ladies and gentlemen, that profession is teaching." ...

Riley's call drew a quick rebuke from Paul Hubbert, boss of the powerful Alabama Education Association, who two decades ago beat back a major push in the state for incentive pay and bonuses for higher-performing teachers.

"It has political sex appeal, but if anybody had found a way to do it, we would long ago have adopted such a system," Hubbert said. "The fact is nobody has found a way to do it that did not result in higher pay based mostly on favoritism and personality."