First school-cuts bill wins final passage

HB 252, the bill to allow various state laws to be temporarily suspended to allow cuts in education funding - including teacher pay - when a school district declares a financial emergency, got a vigorous debate in the Senate today, much different than the chorus of approval that met the bipartisan bill earlier in the House; still, it passed on a 26-8 vote and now goes to the governor’s desk. Sen. Dick Sagness, D-Pocatello, said funding cuts are harming schools. “It has been extremely disruptive to schools and to teachers, and I think that’s deplorable,” he said, adding that he expects as many as a third of Idaho’s school districts to declare financial emergencies once the bill passes.

Sen. Gary Schroeder, R-Moscow, said he favors dipping into reserve funds to spare schools from cuts, since lawmakers are willing to borrow money for road work. “Why can’t we use money we have in these accounts, already there, for our children?” he asked. Senate Majority Leader Bart Davis, who supported the bill despite some legal concerns, told the Senate, “Each of you know that I’m married to a school teacher. I have never had my wife say, ‘You know, if the school would just pay me a fair salary, I’d teach my students better.’ … She works hard, she works a lot of hours, and I believe that’s demonstrative of most of the teachers that I have worked with over the years.” Senate Education Chairman John Goedde, R-Coeur d’Alene, the bill’s Senate sponsor, said, “This bill before us is the result of consensus work.” Without the changes in state laws, he said, cuts in funding would force school districts to lay off teachers.