One of the most frequently discussed topics in education reform circles is teacher pay--how much money teachers make, for what work and who decides teachers' salaries. Over time, educator pay reform has included many different reward structures and goes by as many different names, such as merit pay, performance pay and differentiated pay. The increase in public awareness of alternative compensation for teachers has resulted in greater interest among elected officials at the state and local levels, forcing superintendents to consider performance-based pay as part of their overall reform strategy. In this article, the authors detail the burgeoning interest in using teacher pay strategically for competitive recruitment and retention of talented teachers.