By Karen Cohilas - bio | email
ALBANY, GA (WALB) - Because Georgia is grossly understaffed with New math and science teachers, Governor Perdue has signed a bill into law giving those teachers some incentives.
The new law allows new secondary teachers with math or science certifications to start at the salary they would have obtained after working for five years, they would then get a step increase each year for five years. After that, their pay increases will be tied to student performance.
But is it fair? Bill Scheer has taught math for almost 30 years. He says while starting off new teachers at the pay of folks who've been teaching for years, may not seem fair, it's driven by supply and demand.
Scheer said, "We don't have enough good math teachers. We have people that have some knowledge of mathematics so they're trying to pull those people in, ground them in basic pedagogue and take them into the classroom. Yeah, let's pay them for that first year to attract them and then hopefully work with them so we can keep them."
To encourage elementary teachers to improve their math and science skills, the Governor's proposal also provides a $1,000 annual bonus to elementary teachers who hold a math or science endorsement.
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