BLACKFOOT — When the Idaho Legislature appropriated $21 million in public education block grants with 40 percent designated for professional development and 60 percent for differential play plans, it left the details of those enhanced pay plans up to individual school districts.

    Blackfoot School District's school board approved their plan last Thursday. The deadline was Oct. 1.

    That $12.6 million for additional compensation for teachers will be distributed by the Idaho Department of Education based on enrollment in each district, but how it will be given to  teachers and other district employees will be determined by each district. The Blackfoot plan is designed to avoid the lack of compensation for some schools despite achieving performance improvements that occurred last year under a state formula.

    “We don't know the exact amount the district will receive,” said Blackfoot's financial officer Brian Kress at last Thursday's school board meeting.

    The total amount allocated to the Blackfoot district will be based on classroom units and state funding based on average daily attendance, according to Kress.

    When the amount of “differential pay” approved by the legislature does become available, the Blackfoot School District wants to avoid the situation that occurred last year when an elementary school and the alternative high school staff didn't receive any additional compensation, according to Blackfoot Superintendent Chad Struhs.

    Struhs said the state's formula for distributing additional pay last year didn't adequately address efforts made by staff within a building to improve student achievement.

    Struhs said Blackfoot has tweaked the district's plan this year and it will not be subject to the state formula used during the 2012-13 school year.

    “It's set up in such a way that if a teacher does their job well, they will qualify,” Struhs said.

    The plan approved by the Blackfoot school board is based on student growth within each building in the district and includes certified teaching staff and support staff.

    “They (support staff) weren't allowed to participate before,” the superintendent said.

    Struhs said progress in any one of the schools within the district depends on a team effort and if students show improvement, everyone deserves credit.

    To set up the plan for additional compensation, the school district decided to use four assessment tools: reading and math grade level benchmarks, curriculum placement assessments, end of course assessments and scores in reading and math from standardized testing.

    Students in the district were divided into four separate groups: kindergarten through fifth grade, six grade, seventh through 12th and the alternative high school.

    “In each school employees will work within building level professional learning communities to earn and achieve the differential play unit,” the plan states.

    The plan sets up values for each goal achieved by each individual school and will apply whatever additional state funding is available based on units earned.

    “We're all going to work together,” Struhs said.