These are heady times for brand new teachers in Utah. Twenty-two-year-olds fresh from college are getting offers with starting salaries around $50,000 a year.
If they’re in Piute or Wayne counties, they would be lucky to get $1,000 a month less than that. In fact, some rural Utah school districts have average salaries below what the big districts are now paying the rookies.
And while it’s risky to draw bright lines connecting school funding with success, it’s probably safe to say that those lower salaries contribute to lower test scores among rural students.
As Utah focuses on trying to bring the rural economy up to something approaching the high-flying Wasatch Front, it’s worth remembering that quality education is always key to any longterm economic development strategy.