ANTHONY G. Marchione, the Baltimore County school superintendent, should be commended for his proposal to pay $3,500 "educational excellence stipends" to experienced teachers who teach in the system's lowest-performing schools.

Compensating employees who tackle tougher assignments isn't revolutionary in most fields. Heart surgeons earn more than other physicians. Chefs make more than cooks.

The correlation between how hard a job is and how much it pays is often backward in education, where systems with the greatest resources and support -- such as Montgomery and Howard counties -- pay much more than Baltimore City, where poverty can make a teacher's job harder.

Credit Dr. Marchione for taking a stab at this sacred cow, even if he lacks the budget to slay it altogether. The county school board has approved a modest $350,000 for the program. Teachers can apply for the bonus through a process that includes references, writing samples and interviews.

One hundred teachers are to be chosen and assigned among 23 schools that have performed poorly. Teachers at those schools may also apply, if the program survives the county budget review. The State Department of Education has proposed a similar system of $1,000 grants for certified teachers assigned to at-risk schools.

Regrettably, the Teachers Association of Baltimore County has derided the idea as "combat pay" while complaining that it doesn't address class size, lack of computers and other educational ills.

But the plan is not meant as a cure-all. Rather, it sends the same message the union trumpets -- that good teachers do matter. The best ones should be rewarded for applying themselves where they're needed most.

The grant may not be large enough to coax some good teachers to leave comfortable schools for low-achieving ones. Still, Dr. Marchione deserves applause for his plans to recognize and reward those willing to take on a tough job.

Pub Date: 3/06/99