Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell rolled out a pilot performance-based teacher pay program in Virginia on Tuesday as part of his K-12 education proposals for the 2011 General Assembly session.

 The program would provide $3 million from the state's general fund for competitive grants for school divisions identified as hard-to-staff, and award performance-based incentives of up to $5,000 to teachers in those schools.

The pilot schools could receive funds for the 2011-2012 school year.

The state has about 190 “hard-to-staff” schools, which have to meet a certain number of criteria such as being accredited with warning or having an average daily attendance rate two percentage points below the statewide average.

McDonnell also proposed a tax credit for companies that contribute to nonprofit organizations that provide scholarships to lower-income students.

Meanwhile, the state's Association of School Superintendents is pushing hard against the governor's overall education funding proposals, arguing that K-12 Direct Aid as a percentage of the state's general fund budget has been dropping since fiscal 2009.