LANSING, Mich. – Michigan’s top education official said Monday that paying math and science teachers a six-figure salary is the only way to attract the best and the brightest professionals to  the education profession.

“When you ratchet up teacher salaries to $100,000-plus, market forces will direct more mid-career changers and you’ll attract more math and science college students into our educator prep programs,” said State Superintendent Mike Flanagan to a group of science experts, reports MLive.com.

Flanagan added that “all teachers” should see a bump in salary so Michigan schools “continue getting the best and brightest people educating our students,” reports TheOaklandPress.com.

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A spokeswoman for the Michigan Department of Education explained that Flanagan’s remarks were meant “to start a discussion” about teacher pay, and acknowledged that the state does not have any money set aside for the proposed higher paydays.

The Michigan Education Association (state’s largest teacher union) wasted little time in endorsing Flanagan’s comments.

“We’ve got to pay people a level commensurate with their skills in order to attract and retain the highest quality people,” MEA spokesman Doug Pratt told MLive.com. “There are plenty of more lucrative careers out there in the world that can attract attention from high quality college graduates.”

Education reformers agree with Flanagan’s goal of making education an attractive career for highly skilled professionals. But higher pay is only part of that equation.

If Flanagan is serious about attracting top teaching talent, he needs to also call for ending a number of antiquated union work rules, including “last in, first out” layoff policies, tenure job protections, and rigid salary schedules that reward longevity over performance.

A six-figure starting salary might turn a young college graduate’s head, but the unions’ “one-size-fits-all” work rules are contrary to the policies true professionals would demand.

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School districts could “ratchet” up everybody’s pay as Flanagan suggests, but without greater levels of accountability and professionalism, the only noticeable improvement in quality will be found in the teachers’ parking lot – not in the classrooms.