Summary
Ties teacher pay to student performance/learning rather than seniority.
Biblical Reasoning
Common sense would dictate that one’s wages be tied in some way to one’s performance. This same truth is found in the Bible. “The worker is worthy of his wages” (1 Tim. 5:18, Luke 10:7) implies that wages and labor are to be linked, that is, that pay should be based on performance.
This same truth seems to lie behind our Lord’s command in 1 Cor. 9:14 that those who preach the gospel should be paid for that labor. Jesus doesn’t say a man is entitled to wages just because he has been a pastor for a number of years. But rather his pay is based on his performance. And 1 Tim. 5:17 says that those elders who perform their tasks well are to be given double honor, meaning double pay. This is pay for performance.
Election Results
Voters rejected teacher pay for performance (65% No).
Full PEAPAC Analysis
PEAPAC Explanation: If passed, Measure 95 would change the Oregon Constitution and tie teachers’ salaries to how well their students learn. We believe the long-term answer to America’s educational difficulties does not lie in reforming the public (government) schools, but in replacing them. We articulate some of the reasons for this in our recommendation on Ballot Measure 1. However, this Measure seems like an appropriate step to take while we work and pray toward a more Biblical goal.
The teacher unions, who for years have insisted on academic achievement as a measure for a parent’s fitness to teach their own children, strongly oppose this Measure. Besides the obvious hypocrisy in this, the teacher unions seem mixed up about just who is employing who here. Employers have the right to set wages ( Matthew 20) . Teachers work for those that hire them – the parents and taxpayers. When God gives children to parents, He “certifies” them, so to speak, as able to teach their children. But when parents want to hire the job out, they should set the wages for the employees. How shall we set the wages for these hired teachers? This Measure says we should pay for results, not effort or time spent trying to do the job.
The first advantage of this Measure is that it takes a very common sense step in fixing wages. Teachers are hired to help students learn, and that’s what they should be paid for. A second and very important advantage of this Measure is that it will renew the debate over just what children should be learning. As our culture has moved away from Christianity and the Word of God, it has also moved away from objective, content-oriented education, into more subjective arenas that can’t be measured. Measure 95 will direct us back towards objective, measurable education. We urge a Yes vote on Measure 95.
One final note. We believe that parents, not the general population, are tasked by God to provide for their children’s education. We further believe that their education is to be explicitly Christian, which it can’t be in government schools. While we support Measures 58 and 60, the long term task of reforming public schools will ultimately be accomplished by abolishing them. We urge all Christian parents to diligently seek Christian schooling for the children God has entrusted to them. And we urge all Christian churches to pledge themselves as resources to families as they seek to honor God in their choice of schooling
Related Measures
Measure 1 (2000) — Discussion on public school funding and role. View →
Measure 58 (2008) — Mentioned in ‘One final note’ – seemingly misprinted year or referring to a future measure? View →
Measure 60 (2008) — Mentioned in ‘One final note’ – seemingly misprinted year or referring to a future measure? View →
Dennis Tuuri 
Leave a comment