In January 2004, New York City School Chancellor Joel Klein proposed a merit-pay deal; in February, Mayor Michael Bloomberg proposed replacing the union's 200-page contract with an 8-page set of guidelines.
In January 2004, New York City School Chancellor Joel Klein proposed reducing pay for poor teachers and adopting incentive pay for others. This was followed a month later by a proposal by Mayor Michael Bloomberg to jettison the union's 200-page contract in favor of an 8-page set of guidelines.