August is a mixed blessing – summer school is over and the afternoons are long, but teachers and students alike are aware that the first day of school is only a few weeks away. August should be a time for relaxation and preparation, but tempers have been running high for such a normally lazy month. The Washington Teachers’ Union and D.C. public schools are still locked in a stalemate over contract negotiations, the Mayor’s office is playing tug-of-war with the D.C. Council over the schools budget, and the Post is editorializing about all of it. Maybe it’s the heat.

But these aren’t just any contract negotiations – they hinge on D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee’s controversial merit pay proposal, which would dramatically shift the way District teachers are paid and evaluated should they choose to participate. Last week, following a series of emotional Q&A meetings with teachers, the WTU emailed its members a 37 page packet detailing the raises and bonuses teachers would be eligible for should the plan be adopted. George Parker, the WTU president, cautioned that no agreements have been reached on issues of seniority and tenure since the contract talks resumed last Wednesday. Rhee, however, told the Newshour that the negotiations were close to being finished.

For you DCist policy wonks, details of the performance pay proposal are below the jump. The rest of you, go buy some tax-free school supplies for the students (or teachers) in your life.