In Ann Arbor, Jim Harbaugh Gets $150,000 Academic Incentive – City's Teachers Get $150

Newly hired University of Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh will make three times as much money if his football players hit their academic goals than if Harbaugh is named the Big Ten Coach of the Year. MLive did a story on Harbaugh’s contract that states the coach will earn $150,000 if the players hit certain academic bench marks. Harbaugh will get $50,000 if he’s picked as the league’s top coach. The academic bonus is 3 percent of Harbaugh’s $5 million annual salary.

ForTheRecord says: Ann Arbor Public Schools teachers who are evaluated and given the highest rating of “highly effective” receive a $150 bonus, according to district spokeswoman Liz Margolis. The average salary of the Ann Arbor Public Schools teacher was $74,153 in 2012-13, the latest year the state makes data available. That means the bonus for being a highly effective teacher in Ann Arbor public schools is 0.2 percent of the average salary. In Ann Arbor, academic incentives are more valued for a college football coach than the public school teachers.