Educators face hard realities

Utah's education establishment is facing some hard realities. Nearly half of the state's teachers will be eligible for retirement in the next 10 years. Meanwhile college enrollment is slowing and growth in the public school population is mounting. According to projections, some 14,000 new students a year will be added to the system for the next decade.

This portends problems for Utah schools considering that teacher compensation in Utah is among the lowest in the nation and the West. Teachers educated in Utah colleges and universities have their pick of better salaries and lower class sizes out of state.

New recommendations by a joint task force of the Utah State Board of Regents and Utah State Board of Education aim to address these issues. Author David Sperry, former education dean at the University of Utah, says the new report calls for "thinking outside of the box." It does, indeed.

The recommendations challenge the outdated agrarian calendar that limits options for year-round schooling or optimal utilization of staffing and buildings. Working longer hours and more days in a calendar year would eliminate the need for many teachers to work second jobs. The trimester model, which has been used at BYU-Idaho, allows sufficient flexibility in teacher contracts to accommodate those who prefer to work more or those who prefer traditional schedules.

The trimester recommendation poses exciting options for students as well. Ambitious high school students who attend school year-round could conceivably complete high school in two years. The modeling also would enable students to travel without missing school, repeat courses or take remedial classes, register for more electives or take lighter academic loads while extracurricular demands are heavy. If anything, such a model would vastly expand students' and families' options.

The plan also contemplates other solutions to the teacher-shortage problem. Retired teachers could come back to work without the customary time restrictions. Mechanisms could be established to permit people whose teaching certificates have expired to rejoin the teaching ranks.

There is no price tag for these recommendations. While air conditioning is a given in most places of work, many Utah schools do not have cooling systems. It would be costly but arguably necessary to install air conditioning in schools used on a year-round basis.

It is also unclear how much it would cost to increase the number of teacher training slots in Utah colleges and universities. Likewise for scholarships and grant programs that entice more students to become schoolteachers.

This does not suggest these issues could not be overcome. The truth is, the state has to pay to address the teacher shortage and enrollment growth. The task force plan presents valuable options.

Last, the task force is correct in its overarching supposition that Utah's public schools cannot continue to operate as they have for decades. Long gone are the days that youths were needed as a labor force for farms and ranches. Academic and work calendars need to reflect these realities.