The Pittsburgh school board Wednesday approved a $1.8 million contract with a New Jersey think tank that's going to help the school district develop a pay-for-performance plan for teachers.

The contract with Mathematica Policy Research Inc. of Princeton, N.J., is contingent on the district receiving a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Under the five-year contract, Mathematica would help the district develop "multiple measures of effective teaching," including a way to measure a teacher's impact on students' standardized test scores.

Performance pay was a big part of the district's $50 million proposal to the Gates Foundation for improving teacher effectiveness.

In its proposal, the district said it wanted to bring in Mathematica to help with the project. Mathematica researchers previously analyzed the effectiveness of the district's elementary math programs.

The Gates Foundation has said the school district is in line to receive a major share of $500 million the philanthropy has earmarked for teacher effectiveness programs. It hasn't said how much Pittsburgh would receive.

The school board also voted to approve a two-year, $79,450 contract with Gallup Consulting of Omaha, Neb. Gallup will provide the district with an online screening program for evaluating applicants for teaching positions.

The program doesn't test teachers' content knowledge; rather it gauges motivation, ability to connect with students and other personality traits considered necessary in urban schools. Applicants answer a series of questions, and their responses are scored and provided to the district.

The contract with Gallup also is contingent on Gates funding.

The board delayed a vote on another Gates-related contract -- a proposed four-year, $2.7 million agreement with The New Teacher Project.

Administrators want the New York-based nonprofit to help recruit teachers for difficult-to-fill slots in the sciences and special education. The nonprofit also would offer an alternative certification process for recruits who aren't already certified teachers.

The school board gave Trek Development Group of Oakland 24 months to develop a proposal for turning the former Miller school building in the Hill District into a residential development. The company also is interested in buying adjoining vacant land owned by the district. During Trek's option period, the district won't entertain other offers for the properties.

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