Iowa District Hiring Younger Teachers To Save Money

The Iowa City (IA) Press-Citizen (10/7) reports that the school district in Iowa City, Iowa, "appears to be hiring more inexperienced teachers than in years past," quoting district human resources director Jim Pedersen, "We have been hiring younger. If all things are equal, we're going to hire the less experienced teachers for the cost savings." The piece notes that some 6% of the district's teachers have less than four years under their belt, but compares this figure with NCES stats showing that nationwide "13 percent of teachers have less than three years of experience."