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Science and math teachers across the state were offered a bonus for the 2008-2009 school year by the state Legislature, to recruit and retain teachers in those subjects. However, many math and science teachers won't see a penny because they may not qualify.
Nedra Call, director of curriculum for the Nebo School District, is waiting for guidance from the state before she'll know how many teachers can expect to receive money.
"We're kind of in the dark waiting for those specifications," Call said.
She said that in one school in the Nebo district the number of math and science teachers who are likely eligible for the money is much less than half.
Jean Mills-Barber, the deputy director for the state Department of Human Resource Management, is working on crafting regulations based on the law. She said her office is working with the state Office of Education to determine how many teachers would be eligible to apply for up to $4,100 a year.
To qualify for the money, Mills-Barber said teachers must be teaching in the subject of their college major, hold all the appropriate endorsements and have a satisfactory or higher rating in their most recent evaluation. Only teachers who hold degrees in mathematics, integrated science, chemistry, physics, physical science or general science are eligible. Teachers of biology, other science disciplines and math teachers who did not major in mathematics are not eligible.
Tracy Poulsen, a chemistry teacher at Spanish Fork High School, plans to apply for the bonus because she's teaching in her major, but she said she's still unsure what to do.
"I think it's frustrating not knowing," Call said. "We would like to know more."
The purpose of the program is to recruit teachers with majors in those areas of teaching because people who major in physics or math can get higher paying jobs in the private sector. Mills-Barber said the state has never tried this before.
"Because this is a new approach that has not been used previously by the state of Utah, it is difficult to speak to how effective it will be in recruiting and retaining qualified teachers. The program will be monitored over time in order to determine its effectiveness," she wrote in an e-mail.
Al Mosher, Nebo's director of human resources, said the bonuses will be incentives for teachers, but he doesn't know if it will keep them from moving to other fields.
The guidelines will not be available to school districts until August, but information is available at www.tssp.utah.gov. Mills-Barber said teachers may send questions to
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• Brittani Lusk can be reached at 344-2549 or at
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