Two lawmakers urge end to new-teacher bonuses

Emily Richmond and Cy Ryan

Friday, March 4, 2005 | 11:12 a.m.

Two Clark County legislators suggested Thursday that the state scrap its $2,000 signing bonuses for new school teachers and instead offer them help with affordable housing.

At a meeting of the joint Subcommittee on K-12/Human Resources, Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani, D-Las Vegas, said the bonus to the new teacher was "an insult" to those who have been teaching for 20-30 years.

Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, said the state should look at providing low-interest housing loans rather than the bonus. "The price of housing has gone up more and more," she said during a hearing of a legislative budget committee on the state Department of Education.

To qualify for the bonus a teacher must teach at least 30 days during the school year.

Both Giunchigliani and Titus said they wanted statistics whether these teachers remain in the school districts after getting the bonus.

Titus, a UNLV professor, said that of the 1,812 new teachers in Clark County, 227 left or 12.5 percent. "That might be a good indicator for the rest of the state," she said.

Keith Rheault, state superintendent of public instruction, said a survey of all 17 counties has not been completed.

Twenty-six states offer incentives to lure new teachers. Gov. Kenny Guinn has set aside $10 million to be used during the next two fiscal years to pay out the bonuses.

Rheault said that 2,252 teachers received bonuses last fiscal year, totaling $4.5 million. He expects about 2,600 new teachers to get the one-time payment.

Giunchigliani said the Legislature may talk to Charles Horsey, administrator of the state Housing Division, about setting up a loan problem.

Guinn, in his "State of the State" talked about a program to develop more low-cost housing.

Horsey said today the governor has given him marching orders to work with local governments to get more virtually free land from the Bureau of Land Management. He said there is a "tough time" for entry-level teachers and nurses to secure housing.

Getting this land could lead to affordable housing for these first time homeowners, Horsey said.

Giunchigliani, a former schoolteacher, said the housing problem isn't only in Clark and Washoe counties. She said teachers in rural Nevada also have trouble finding affordable and livable housing.

Mary Ella Holloway, president of the Clark County Education Association, said not all new teachers are interested in purchasing homes. For many rookie teachers fresh out of college, the $2,000 signing bonus pays moving expenses and allows people to put down security deposits for rental housing, Holloway said.

However, she added, rising home costs are "certainly a factor" in recruiting.

"I've been told by principals that some teachers have turned down contracts with Clark County because they can't afford to buy a house here," Holloway said.

It's also frustrating to newer teachers that the bonus is a one-time offer, Holloway said.

"Second-year teachers typically take a $700 pay cut," Holloway said.

The teachers' union would prefer to see teacher salaries raised outright, Holloway said.

"If you want people to come here and stay here you have to pay them appropriately," Holloway said.

Other states offer bonuses ranging from $1,500 to $3,000 for a new teacher. And 14 state have bonuses for teachers who agree to work in high-poverty or low-performing schools.

The education department also said several states are moving toward performance pay for teachers. For instance in North Carolina, each teacher in school may receive from $750 to $1,500 based on the academic level achieved by students. Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, told Rheault that the state was moving too slow in getting students to reach the standards first set in 1997. "I'm upset. I didn't expect a snail's pace."

Raggio singled out math as one area where the standards are not being reached. "I keep hearing excuses." He said math is being "taught to breadth and not depth."

He said Nevada gets "C's" and "F's" in national ratings.

Rheault said progress is being made. "It may be slow but we're getting there."

Sen. Barbara Cegavske, R-Las Vegas, questioned whether the Legislature should step in and require local districts to teach certain ways. But Rheault said "The Legislature should not have to do that."

Giunchigliani suggested that the school year be lengthened. "It's been 180 days forever. You can't expect content to be taught," in that time, she said.

She said "High school kids get out at 1:30 p.m. in Clark County. That's ridiculous."

She also said professors in the university system that train teachers should know the standards that the school districts are requiring. "You can't prepare teacher on what to teach," if the professors don't know the standards, she said.

At a meeting Thursday of the Assembly Education Subcommittee, Rheault said it may be time to reevaluate how schools qualify for extra incentives for personnel. The number of at-risk schools in Nevada, identified as those campuses with at least 65 percent of students qualifying for free and reduced-priced meals, has remained fairly steady in recent years, Rheault said. But the federal No Child Left Behind Act requires the state to offer extra aid to schools that are labeled "needs improvement," and that list has grown by leaps and bounds, Rheault said.

"No Child Left Behind wants us to make sure highly qualified teachers stay at 'needs improvement' schools," Rheault said. "Somewhere down the road there could be 400 of the (state's) 562 schools on that list and you're probably going to be paying almost everybody (incentives). We're going to need to have the discussion of what we're trying to do with this."

Assemblywoman Debbie Smith, D-Sparks and co-chair of the education subcommittee, said she had a "personal need to see that what we are spending money on is making a difference." At her recommendation the subcommittee members agreed to make the new teacher signing bonus a priority for consideration.

"There are recruiting teams out right now who need to know if this is going to be an issue," Smith said.

The Clark County School District will host a statewide teacher recruiting fair Saturday and already has 500 people registered from out of state, said coordinator JoAnne Schlekewy. Potential applicants regularly ask about the signing bonus, Schlekewy said.

"We give them the same answer we always give them," Schlekewy said. "While we're hopeful the bonuses will continue, nothing is certain until the Legislature gives the OK."

The recruiting fair will be held Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Tuscany Suites and Casino, 255 E. Flamingo Road, Las Vegas. Eight of Nevada's 17 school districts, including the two largest, Clark and Washoe, will be recruiting for the 2005-06 academic year. For more information go to www.teachfornevada.com.