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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Eye On Boise

Idaho teachers sue over financial emergency pay-cut negotiations

Here's a news item from the Associated Press:  BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A dozen teachers in the tiny town of Harrison are the first to sue an Idaho school district over pay and benefits negotiated under financial emergency declarations that started two years ago. The lawsuit against the Kootenai School District was filed Tuesday. The suit claims the district made a decision to worsen their "last best offer" after the deal was extended — and rejected — by teachers and that decision violated the financial emergency statutes. Teachers are guaranteed by state law at least as much money as they earned in the previous year. But lawmakers for the past two years have allowed districts the option of financial emergencies to make cuts to help balance budgets. Attorney John Rumel, general counsel for the Idaho Education Association, says this is the first lawsuit the union has brought on behalf of teachers as the result of financial emergency negotiations in the past two years.



Betsy Z. Russell
Betsy Z. Russell joined The Spokesman-Review in 1991. She currently is a reporter in the Boise Bureau covering Idaho state government and politics, and other news from Idaho's state capital.

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