This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2006, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
You don't have to be a math whiz to calculate Utah's impending teacher shortage.
A Utah State University study to be presented to the Utah State Board of Education today shows the number of Utah college graduates pursuing teaching careers is shrinking, and many new teachers are leaving the field within three years. In the next 10 years, nearly half of Utah's teachers will become eligible for retirement as enrollment increases an estimated 28 percent.
"Utah will need to increase the production of new teachers, retain those trained and find ways to recruit more [teachers] through traditional and alternative routes to licensure," according to the study by USU's Instructional Technology Department.
The study confirms popular wisdom that the most critical shortages are in the areas of special education, speech pathology, math and science. Attrition rates suggest other areas of concern may include secondary language arts, and elementary and early childhood education.
School districts already are feeling the pinch.
"It's becoming increasingly difficult to get fully staffed," said Mel Miles, human resources director for the fast-growing Davis School District. "It's very competitive, and the candidate pool dwindles sooner each year."
Miles says his district is hiring more teachers who got their licenses through alternative routes - people who majored and worked in their subject areas, but did not take teacher training courses.
Even in areas that were previously oversupplied, such as elementary education, teacher supply is down.
"We have to scrounge, recruiting candidates during their senior year of college as interns or long-term substitute teachers," Miles said.
Kindergarten teachers are in short supply because too few graduates have the "early childhood" credential the job requires. Miles likes Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.'s idea of expanding all-day kindergarten programs in schools that serve high numbers of disadvantaged students, but says there are "simply not enough kindergarten teachers."
On Capitol Hill, ideas about attracting and retaining teachers abound, and legislators have more money to work with than they have had in years. It's too soon to tell which ideas the 2006 Legislature will choose to enact.
Job enhancement money for math and science teachers was built into the base budget for education this year, along with scholarships to help teachers of those subjects acquire graduate degrees.
"Those things help teachers stay longer in their careers," said Rep. Ronda Rudd Menlove, R-Brigham City, who pushed for the measures. Menlove also introduced a bill Thursday that would provide mentoring and support for new teachers at a cost of $4.2 million.
Miles is thankful for help the Legislature gave last year for hiring science and math teachers, but would like greater flexibility in using money to meet the fluctuating demands of the teacher market.
"We could use the help in other high-need areas, such as special education," Miles said.
He added the best single thing legislators could do to address teacher shortages is to increase entry level salaries for teachers, as a bill by Rep. James Gowans, D-Tooele, proposes.
Joan Patterson, director of teacher quality and licensing at the Utah State Office of Education, agrees heartily.
"I get phone calls from people out of state asking about beginning teacher salaries," Patterson says. "When I give them the range, I've had people hang up on me."
Legislation aimed at attracting and retaining teachers:
* HB 98 provides $18 million to enhance starting salaries for beginning teachers by providing extra pay for extra work.
* HB 310 is meant to help retain new teachers through support programs and on-the-job mentoring.
* This year's base budget for education includes career-enhancement money for math and science teachers and money to help teachers of those subjects acquire graduate degrees.
* Rep. Carol Spackman Moss, D- Holladay, wants the state to provide $36 million to lighten the load for teachers of kindergarten through third grade by reducing their class sizes to 20.
* House Majority Whip Stephen Urquhart, R-St. George, is asking for $10 million for merit pay for fourth- through sixth-grade teachers in Title I schools based on the results of testing.
* Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. calls for a 5.5 percent increase in per-pupil funding. Much of the money, if it comes through, would go to teacher salaries.
* House Budget Chairman Ron Bigelow, R-West Valley, proposes an "Education 1000" initiative, which calls for 1,000 new teachers to be hired statewide and gives teachers a $1,000 one-time bonus and a $1,000 on-going bonus.
* Rep. Kory Holdaway, R-Taylorsville, proposes a fund to help teachers pay the cost of national board certification.
Report highlights
* 15,000 teaching positions were filled by new hires or re-entries from 2000 to 2005. During that time, Utah universities reported 8,825 graduates who obtained educator licenses in Utah.
* 42 percent of current educators are 50 or older.
* There may be as many as 13,000 licensed educators in Utah who currently choose not to teach.
* Because of enrollment growth and teacher attrition, Utah may need more than 44,000 new teachers in the next 10 years.
- Utah State University