Invest in teachers, future

As math problems go, this is a simple one: Many Utah teachers are nearing retirement while school enrollments swell. State colleges and universities are actively recruiting more students to become teachers, but they are competing against fields of study that pay substantially better, particularly math and the sciences. To compound the challenges, college enrollment in Utah has been fairly flat the last few years.

This phenomenon has been a wake-up call for state legislators, state and local school board members and school administrators. To compete with private-sector jobs, the state and local school boards have to pay teachers more and provide financial assistance to young people who want to become teachers but can't afford to attend college.

Moreover, school districts need to make sure that any financial incentive state lawmakers give teachers — namely the $2,500 across-the-board pay raise granted all Utah teachers in the last legislative session — ends up in teachers' pockets as promised. School districts have to find a means to deliver the full amount to maintain the trust of the Legislature. Perhaps more important, a failure to provide the full pay raise to teachers could be construed by students considering education as a career as another reason to make a different career choice.

Recently, a joint task force of the Utah State Board of Regents and the Utah State Board of Education developed a number of recommendations that would help improve teacher compensation by altering the traditional school calendar. Instead of working second jobs, teachers could have year-round employment teaching school.

The task force also contemplates policy changes that would allow retired teachers to come back to work without the customary time restrictions, or permit people whose teaching certificates have expired to rejoin the teaching ranks. There are literally thousands of Utahns who have teaching credentials but elected not to use them.

The state's public and higher education systems are attempting to address this issue, which has broad implications. This isn't just a matter of filling teaching positions. Rather, it's a generation of college students who will help shape the young minds of tomorrow. Utah should want its best and brightest leading public school classrooms. To achieve that objective, the state and local school districts must improve their compensation and foster respect for the profession.