Teachers willing to work in South Dakota's poorest rural schools can get thousands of dollars in signing and retention bonuses, student loan forgiveness and even housing assistance. Yet, school officials are having as much trouble as ever attracting and keeping good candidates.

Some suspect a generational shift in attitudes is to blame - that today's college graduates place greater importance on where they live than where they work. And if a teacher education major can't get a job in in the city of his or her choice, he or she might leave the profession altogether.

Another problem is the types of teaching jobs for which college students train. South Dakota universities churn out more than enough elementary education majors each year, but only a few chemistry and physics teachers.

The shortage is expected to worsen as many of the state's veteran teachers near retirement age. In forecasting the "largest teacher retirement wave in history," the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future last year estimated 46 percent of South Dakota teachers are 50 or older.