EDITORIAL: Give new teachers bonuses for working in at-risk schools

Before the clock runs out on the 2015 Legislature, Gov. Brian Sandoval and lawmakers are turning it back in pursuit of a policy that previously helped Nevada deal with perennial teacher shortages.

Between 2001 and 2007, when the Clark County School District opened a dozen new schools every year to keep up with enrollment growth, the state awarded new teachers hiring bonuses of between $2,000 and $2,500. The bonuses were an effective, affordable way to attract qualified applicants without raising teacher base salaries across the board.

The bonuses went away when Nevada’s economy collapsed, because the state had neither the money nor the need for new teachers; economic, population and enrollment growth had stalled. But today is a different story. Clark County School District enrollment, especially, is growing rapidly, creating an acute need for new schools and new teaching positions. The system expects to have 2,600 open positions for the next school year. And Clark County is competing against growing school systems throughout the West for teacher candidates.

Enter Senate Bill 511, which was introduced last week and passed by the upper chamber Wednesday. The bill allocates $10 million to give 2,000 new teachers a bonus of $5,000 over the next two years. The bonuses would go only to teachers who agree to work in underperforming, high-poverty schools. It’s a great idea that should be a first step toward creating performance-based incentives to retain effective teachers in at-risk schools.

SB511 also creates a $5 million scholarship fund to help train new teachers in Nevada. Lawmakers will have to come up with funding to get the bill to Gov. Sandoval’s desk — it wasn’t part of budgets that already have been passed. If legislators can’t come up with funding, they should scrap the scholarships and, if necessary, expanded pre-kindergarten classes. The bonuses for new teachers are more important. Hiring bonuses are an especially effective way to make sure positions are filled. They’re common in the private sector for high-demand, low-supply fields such as nursing and engineering.

Good teachers are the most important variable in student achievement, and Nevada needs more of them — lots more. Of course, the state still has unnecessary barriers that keep qualified professionals out of public education because of credentialism. The state has made great progress in creating alternative programs for college graduates who want to transition to a teaching career, but the licensing process must be made even less burdensome. Nevada’s colleges and universities produce less than 1,000 teacher candidates per year — not nearly enough to replace retiring teachers and fill new positions.

Increasing the supply of teaching candidates through more sensible licensing standards must be part of the state’s long-term solution to its teacher shortage. SB511 is a strong addition to Gov. Sandoval’s education agenda, with no time to spare — the 2015 session is supposed to end late Monday. If lawmakers can fund it, they should pass it.