Elementary school teachers in Alpine who work extended days make about 14 percent more than if they would work a regular contract.

"At the junior high school, it's a little more," Seastrand said.

The district is saving about 20 percent on junior high buildings with productivity schedules. It currently has 10 junior high or middle schools. If not for productivity, the district would need two more buildings, Seastrand said.

Before the district makes any decisions about productivity schedules, a committee of administrators, principals and teacher union representatives will discuss options.

In a recent discussion about productivity models with the Board of Education, board member JoDee Sundberg said that the incentive to make more money could make Alpine School District attractive to teachers looking for jobs, but they'll have to work harder to earn their salaries than they would in other states.

"We're in a Catch-22 with that," she said.

A teacher would rather teach extra hours than pick up a part-time job for additional income, Seastrand said. The summer of his eighth year in education, Seastrand worked at a gilsonite mine in Vernal.

"I hated every minute of it, but I needed the money," he said.

And there will be additional costs to keeping the school open for additional hours a day or days a year.

"There are secretaries, and janitorial and transportation and school lunch," Sundberg said.

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E-mail: lhancock@desnews.com