The Rome school district and teachers union opted not to push for a new teacher evaluation plan in time for the September school year opening, but Superintendent Jeffrey P. Simons still anticipates state approval by a final January deadline.

While the district and Rome Teachers Association missed an early cutoff of July 1 for submitting a plan to seek state approval by Sept. 1, "overall we are making progress," Simons said Friday. "I do not anticipate any reasons why we would not have an approved plan...by Jan. 17, 2013." That deadline must be met to ensure the district receives $3.7 million in state aid increases for 2012-13.

Simons in May had indicated his preference for a July 1 agreement on the local portion of a new evaluation system that was announced in February by state officials and statewide teacher unions. Under the statewide agreement, 20 percent of a teacher’s evaluation is to stem from measures of student progress that are locally agreed upon through collective bargaining.

The Rome district and union "have re-evaluated our progress to date and determined not to press to submit a plan by July 1," said Simons. "We want to do a thorough job and do not want to risk disapproval" by the state Education Department. "We also see a hurried process as presenting the potential for confusion among teachers that could contribute to delays in negotiating and achieving an agreement."

Complications stemmed from state changes in the requirements and "a failure to anticipate the number of issues that have contributed to confusion in local districts, particularly around the selection of locally adopted assessments and how they are to be utilized in the evaluation process," Simons commented. The extra time for reaching an agreement will "ensure that our... plan thoroughly addresses all of the requirements," and will "ensure sufficient teacher and administrator involvement...."

The district and RTA have set additional sessions this summer to "focus on the selection and adoption of a local assessment to be used" in evaluations, said Simons. Teacher representatives from each grade level and administrators will review assessments that have been approved by the state, he added.

Based on the state’s estimated 8-10 week period to decide on submitted plans, the district has until around the first week of November to present its plan in time for a Jan. 17 approval, said Simons. He has said a worst-case scenario could include mid-year layoffs if the deadline is missed and the state aid increase is cancelled.

RTA President Robert Wood had no immediate comment on the negotiations. The district has about 500 teachers.

Of about 700 districts statewide, 164 have submitted negotiated teacher and principal evaluation agreements for review, state Education Commissioner John B. King Jr. announced Monday regarding the July 1 deadline. Holland Patent was the only Oneida County district listed among them.