HOUSTON -- The Houston Independent School District Board unanimously approved changes to the teacher performance pay plan, KPRC Local 2, Your Education Station, reported Thursday.

The district handed out more than $15 million in bonuses to teachers and staff in January.

But not everyone was happy.

"Our teachers came to us after last year and they said, 'Teachers do incredibly important work in groups, and we shouldn't put the whole performance pay system based on everything an individual teacher does," HISD spokesman Terry Abbott said.

So, Abbott said the program is based on the students' academic progress.

"We broadened it to include rewarding teachers who teach as teams and who get a lot of progress from their children," he said.

"Anything is better than what we had last year. There are some programs that can't sink any lower. Last year's hit that," said Gayle Fallon with the Houston Federation of Teachers.

Fallon said she would prefer a living wage over pay for performance.

"They've made some accommodations that are a little better. What we're finding, talking to teachers, it's still not a winner," Fallon said.

HSID teachers could earn up to $7,300 in bonuses this year based on the new ASPIRE Award plan approved by the board.

Officials said the new performance pay system will pay the most money to teachers of core academic subjects like English, language arts, math, science and social studies for their individual success in helping children improve academically over three years.

But the new plan also will reward groups of teachers for their successful teamwork and all instructional staff on a campus when a school makes the highest amount of comparable improvement or earns the highest ratings under the Texas accountability system, according to HISD.