It's not sufficient, though, to say that teaching is its own reward and that teachers go into it knowing that they won't strike it rich teaching school. Adequate compensation is not just providing a living wage. It's a matter of demonstrating respect to men and women who dedicate themselves to being career educators. It's about having teachers in the classroom who can inspire the next generation's Glenn Prestwich.

To that end — and to address an upcoming wave of teacher retirements and the losses of Utah-trained teachers to better-paying states in the region — the State Board of Education is seeking $50 million to create a "Utah Educator Quality" plan. The plan would, in part, encourage people to become teachers and keep them in the profession.

The state school board announced its "Utah Educator Quality" plan late last week, so it remains to be seen, with its multimillion-dollar price tag, if lawmakers will embrace the concept.

Something's got to give. The public school population is expected to increase by nearly 50 percent in the next two decades. At those rates, Utah faces serious teacher shortages. Somehow, the state has to make teaching an attractive career and mentor new teachers, a third of whom leave the profession within the first three years of teaching. Half leave within five years.

It's more than a brain drain. It's a loss of talented young men and women who, if they remain in the classroom, give students added value beyond the core curriculum. They are the future's inspiration.

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Marjorie Cortez, who takes great solace in the fact that her occasional joint pain may, in the near future, be rectified with a simple injection of goo (not the scientific name, of course), is a Deseret Morning News editorial writer. E-mail: marjorie@desnews.com