But they're also nervous about the strings attached to the money.

Other provisions in HB181 First Substitute, sponsored by Rep. Stephen Urquhart, R-St. George, make it easier to fire teachers, tie the math money to teacher bonus programs and create vouchers for exit exam tutoring by private providers.

All three are touchy subjects, but creation of bonus pay pilot programs that divert money from a math teacher development program pushed by Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. might be the touchiest of all.

Urquhart's bill sets aside $7.5 million for math programs in grades four through six in schools that serve disadvantaged students. It directs the money into pilot programs, some of which would offer bonus pay to teachers whose classes see gains on tests and some of which would center on improving teachers' knowledge of math.

The remaining $7.5 million in HB181 would pay for exit exam tutoring.

The bill is supported by the Utah Taxpayers Association, which backs the application of free-market principles to education. The conservative think tank The Sutherland Institute also supports the bill, which the Utah State Board of Education opposed on a narrow vote.

"Merit pay is a sound management principle," said Mike Jerman, Taxpayers Association vice president. "It works in the private sector and will work just as well in the public education sector."

The Executive Appropriations Committee on Monday set aside the money for HB181, virtually assuring its passage today; it already has passed in the House.

Urquhart's bill provides financial incentives for teachers to work at schools that serve disadvantaged students who do poorly on tests.

"The highest potential for gains are to be found with the students currently underperforming," he said.

Janine Smith, principal of Salt Lake City's Parkview Elementary, sees the matter differently.

Smith fears that making teacher pay dependent on student performance would necessarily make teachers reluctant to teach the many transient students who enroll at her school, and the mentally disabled children mainstreamed into Parkview's classrooms. She fears a loss of the collaborative spirit she and her teachers have worked so hard to create.

"I know the legislators are thinking of how they can support teachers and raise test scores," she said. "This is not the way to do it - it would ruin everything. Instead, give the money to the schools and let the school teams decide how to use it to benefit everyone."

Utah Education Association President Pat Rusk is concerned HB181 will cause teachers who need extra pay to focus on getting students to pass math achievement tests, to the detriment of achievement in other subject areas. But Jerman said the bill's proponents mean for its principles to expand beyond math. "This is basically just a starting point."

Rusk said Tuesday that Sen. Beverly Evans, R-Altamont, is preparing another substitute bill for introduction in the Senate when HB181 is debated. Evans modeled the substitute bill after one offered in the House by Rep. Kory Holdaway, R-Taylorsville, which sought to separate out the math initiative and restore it to Huntsman's original vision.

Evans' substitute would provide $15 million to improve teachers' math knowledge and help students struggling with math. Holdaway's similar motion failed in the House before Urquhart's bill passed there.

Urquhart said he has had no discussion with anyone about changes to his bill.

cbaker@sltrib.com