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SALT LAKE CITY — "We aren't producing enough nerds," said Sen. Howard Stephenson. "Nerds are the ones in demand making the big bucks."
Stephenson's statement was in reference to the bill he is sponsoring: Senate Bill 93: Computer Science Initiative for Public Schools.
This bill creates a computer science initiative with the STEM Action Center and State Office of Education. If passed, grants will be offered to school districts and charter schools to enhance their offering of computer science education. Ongoing funding of of $770,000 each year would help supply grants that could be used for professional development, coding camps and other projects determined by the charter school or district.
Anthony Carnevale with Georgetown University's Center on Education and the Workforce came out to Utah to help establish goals in connection with the Gov. Herbert's Prosperity 2020 Initiative. Senator Stephenson said he asked Carnevale "Are all degrees equal?" and the answer was "no." Stephenson said, "One of the biggest challenges that high-tech employers have is finding enough computer science people and coders to find the job. There are over 2,500 open slots for computer science and coding jobs that are going unfilled in Utah."
"We are opposed to this bill," said Sharon Gallagher-Fishbaugh, president of the Utah Education Association. "We don't have enough qualified teachers. We don't have teachers filling critical positions. We are opposed to this bill because our feeling is that any sort of earmark that is set aside for pet projects needs to go away, and all the money needs to go to a weighted pupil unit in order for the districts to attract and retain teachers." Gallagher-Fishbaugh goes on to acknowledge the importance of technology in schools but states, "Attracting and retaining teachers needs to be our priority."
There are currently unfilled positions for both teachers and coders. And both educators and legislators are working in their own ways to fill those gaps.
SB 93 is advancing in the Senate. For more information on the bill, see here.
Carrie Rogers-Whitehead is a senior librarian at Salt Lake County Library Services. In her spare time, she is a STEM educator, digital advocate and instructor at Salt Lake Community College. Carrie can be reached at rogers-whitehead@hotmail.com
