- Traci was my 6th grade teacher, so I'm generally familiar with her family situation and I'm not sure she'd be taking shifts as a janitor after hours if she was making $120k per year. I know many educators in Utah and have looked up their compensation on Utah's Right to Know and I have a hard time believing the numbers it comes up with for some of them (case in point: Traci). Also, I remember a professor I had at USU mentioning the numbers they had for him weren't accurate at all (whether he was lying I don't know but he didn't really have a reason to be untruthful).

- As a matter of simple economics I don't think we'd have a teacher's shortage in Utah if they were being compensated at a level commensurate with the demand for their services. Obviously part of the shortage has to do with policies implemented by the UEA (as the article discusses).

I don't feel sorry for teachers; no one is making them teach for what they get paid. But as a matter of policy there is a shortage of qualified teachers in Utah, especially in STEM subjects and special education and I think it's naive to think that isn't at least partially a product of compensation.