Starting salary for Idaho teachers is lower than in Washington, Oregon and three other surrounding states. Superintendents in Idaho border towns say that has left them with shortages. The salary for a first-year teacher in Idaho is around $31,000. It doesn’t help that St. Maries, a school district in north Idaho, is only 30 miles from Washington, where the teacher starting salary is 15 percent higher and teachers move up the pay scale much faster. This forces superintendents like Joseph Kren to, as he calls it, "get creative” — rearranging existing teachers' schedules and hiring people with related job experience through provisional certificates/Jessica Robinson, KPLU. More here.

Question: Why would you teach in a school district that was anywhere near the border of a state that offered 15% more to start?