Beginning teachers' pay would go up and they'd get extra mentoring under a bill aiming to attract more people to the profession.

"The most important thing in the educational program is the teacher," sponsoring Rep. Brad Johnson, R-Aurora, said of HB188. "We need to be more competitive. Some of these new teachers coming out of college have education debt, and they're stressed. They just need to have more money."

But the Utah Education Association, the state's largest teachers union, thinks HB188 needs a broader scope. While $21.3 million for pay raises might attract new teachers, the same old pay scale and working conditions for veterans might not keep them around.

"It's like saying, 'We'll give one (but not all) of your kids an allowance,' " UEA President Pat Rusk said. "This bill is a very difficult one for us. Yes, we want teachers to have better salaries . . . but we need to look at teaching as a career long-term."

HB188 would give $18.3 million to boost pay for teachers in the first five pay "steps," which typically mirror years of experience.

Money would go to districts based on numbers of teachers in those categories and their educational attainment.

Districts would have discretion in allocating the money, including possibly extending the beginners' contract year for mentoring, training, preparation or other activities.

If they want to boost other teachers' pay, Johnson says they can through the weighted pupil (WPU), whose value could increase by 4.5 percent if Gov. Jon Huntsman has his way.

"My intention and my expectation is there will be an increase to . . . the WPU, so I can expect all teachers will get a raise," Johnson said. Beginners simply would have to get a bigger raise than others under the bill.

HB188 also would give $2.9 million for a teacher mentoring program. Districts would submit plans for State Board of Education approval. The state education office could need $100,000 to oversee the program, the bill's fiscal note says.

Future appropriations would equal what the Legislature can afford, the bill says. Next year could require $22.2 million.

Huntsman's budget includes $15 million for beginning teachers' pay. That's more than $3 million less than HB188 seeks.

"The governor's amount is significant; maybe that's all we can afford," Johnson said.

The UEA says it won't oppose the bill. But it hasn't fully backed it yet, either.

Rusk wants the bill tweaked to address the profession overall and see how it might fit in with the rest of budget priorities.

In an e-mail survey of beginning teachers, several said salary needs to improve, Rusk said. But several also called for more time: to prepare and reflect, implement new techniques and keep up with current expectations.

"We won't oppose this bill," she said. "But we will work to craft the bill to ensure these incentives aren't coming at the expense of career teachers."

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E-mail: jtcook@desnews.com