The Des Moines businessman who pressured lawmakers to enact a new system for paying teachers defends the move in the face of growing resentment from veteran teachers.Marvin Pomerantz, helped devise the plan which junks the seniority system and starts tying teacher pay to performance. He says people resist change. The legislature also provided 40-million dollars to raise teacher pay, but veteran teachers complain most of the money goes to raising the starting salary. But Pomerantz says inking pay to performance means there’ll be accountability. He says there are many great teachers in Iowa, and some that aren’t so great.Pomerantz says the legislature will have to sketch out more details of the plan next year. He says he’ll be a part of it one way or another.Pomerantz has helped bankroll many Republican candidates, and he joined with democrat Governor Tom Vilsack to press for the education reforms.
