Principals in the Pittsburgh Public Schools will have their skills rated under a pay-for-performance plan to be introduced next school year.

In what Superintendent Mark Roosevelt called a major part of his turnaround agenda, the district is doing away with annual step increases that principals received without regard to performance. Instead, after 2007-08, each principal will be eligible for increases of up to $2,000 in base pay and bonuses of up to $10,000.

The plan, outlined at a school board Education Committee meeting last night, is designed to make principals more accountable for staff and student performance.

"Good schools have good principals," Mr. Roosevelt said. "Poor schools have weak leadership."

He said incentive pay is one component of the district's new administrator training and management program, the Pittsburgh Urban Leadership System for Excellence, or PULSE.

Other components include more rigorous principal evaluations, stepped-up efforts to groom prospective administrators, new supports for novice principals and help for the mid-level administrators who oversee principals.

The district in March said it was applying for a federal grant to help finance the five-year, $8.9 million pay-for-performance program; officials anticipate a response next month. Board members last night heard the first details about that initiative.

To get the $2,000 increase in base pay, which would be permanently added to the principal's salary, he or she would have to make substantial progress toward meeting at least 28 goals pertaining to leadership, community ties and academics. On each item, the principal's skills would be rated "rudimentary," "emerging," "proficient" or "accomplished," the first being the lowest rating and the fourth being the highest rating.

A principal would receive the bonus of up to $10,000 for academic growth students demonstrate during the school year. The bonus would not be added to the principal's base pay.

Principals who receive poor evaluations will forego raises but get time and help to improve.

Rich Sternberg, president of Pittsburgh Administrators Association, said he agreed with the concept of better rewarding top principals. The incentives are much larger than the step increases principals are accustomed to receiving.

The district this school year put principals of eight new accelerated learning academies on incentive-based contracts. Officials said it's too soon to say whether that effort has boosted student achievement.