This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

The Utah State Auditor has joined the chorus of educators who say low pay is contributing to the teacher shortage in Utah, but he's singing solo when he raises the possibility of paying math teachers more than others.

The auditor put out a brief, four-page comparison of starting salaries for education majors in Utah vs. other majors. The results largely confirm what is already known anecdotally: First-year teachers are among the lowest paid college graduates.

John Dougall, a Republican and former Utah legislator, is largely in agreement with teacher advocates and the Utah Education Association in promoting the idea that higher pay in other fields is drawing potential teachers away from the teaching profession, particularly in the "STEM" fields.

While an education graduate can expect an entry-level salary of around $36,000, those who major in computer science or engineering can expect $20,000 more, or higher. "The public education system should reconsider its compensation practices, particularly in regards to this information and the competing opportunities graduates have," the report said.

But the auditor goes further to say that it may be time for K-12 schools to copy their higher education counterparts and start paying math and science teachers more than those in other disciplines, as colleges do. "We note that Utah's higher education system generally provides differential pay relative to a professor's background (e.g., engineering vs. history) and does not experience similar concerns regarding teacher shortages."

That turns out to be a place that not many public school systems have gone, and they've faced some stiff opposition from teachers' unions when they have. Current teacher contracts in Utah and elsewhere tend to base compensation on years in the business and educational level, with no regard to discipline.

And the union can argue truthfully that virtually all public school teachers are underpaid in Utah, regardless of what they teach. Other studies have confirmed as much.

So if there is movement to differentiate between disciplines when setting public school teacher pay as Dougall suggests, it should come with an across-the-board increase for all teachers. Lifting all boats makes it easier to lift some higher.

If we do start paying math and science teachers more than the others, it will be a reflection of the job market, not a statement of their relative worth to students. The fact is that we need both math and history teachers, but the math teachers have more opportunities to get higher paying jobs elsewhere. Ignoring that will not help teachers or their students.