Weber School District officials to recommend opting out of Utah teacher merit award pilot after staff survey

Superintendent Butters said Weber School District staff will recommend that the board opt out of the Utah Teacher Merit Award pilot program after a district survey showed strong opposition from teachers and administrators.

The recommendation follows a staff presentation summarizing a district survey and assessment concerns. Nicole Midas, who presented survey findings, said 682 teachers and 52 administrators responded (734 total), representing about 36.6% of teachers and about 50% of administrators; Midas said approximately 18% of eligible respondents supported district participation while about 82% opposed it. "More than half were eligible for teacher merit pay, and 80% of those respondents do not support participation," she said.

Nut graf: The district's leadership framed the decision as one based on teacher feedback, technical concerns about the pilot's formula and design, and potential effects on collaboration and local priorities. Superintendent Butters and district assessment staff said the pilot's heavy emphasis on standardized-test–linked metrics, uncertain formula development and limited transparency from the contracted vendor raised implementation risks for Weber.

District assessment staff said the Center contracted to develop the state formula has not provided a clear, district-level formula to replicate, and that different local inputs could produce divergent outcomes once districts submit their selected teachers. A staff speaker described the contract for the center as approximately $1,800,000 and said the center has not supplied adequate district-level guidance. "We don't have a district level formula from which we can develop our formula from," a district assessment official said.

Superintendent Butters and presenters raised other concerns: the pilot could reduce collaboration among teachers, create perverse incentives that increase turnover from high‑need schools, and divert administrative capacity from the district's Elevate 28 implementation. "We're gonna come to you with the recommendation that we opt out," Superintendent Butters told the board during the study session.

District staff said they had met with neighboring districts and noted mixed interest statewide; staff emphasized the choice to opt out is a recommendation to the board, not a final board action in the study session. The presentation materials and the full teacher comments were included in the board packet, according to presenters.

Ending: The study session presenters said district staff will bring a formal recommendation for the board to consider during the regular meeting that followed the study session. The district did not cast a board vote during the study session.