Sen. Denton Darrington, R-Declo, a retired teacher, said there have been numerous and major reforms in education over the years. "Why aren't the reforms recognized?" he asked. He said the state needs to let school districts decide how to cope with cuts. "Send 'em the money and tell em to spend it wisely, and audit what they do," he said.

Sen. Dean Mortimer, R-Idaho Falls, said he scrapped his prepared remarks. "This bill does not determine how much money we spend on education," he said. "All of us want to put as much money as we can into education in this Legislature." He said he believes lawmakers have the resolve to put more money into schools when they can. The bill's requirements for shifts out of the salary-based apportionment fund don't necessarily mean less money for education in future years, he said, and he said that fund likely would be cut this year even without the bill, because of the state's budget shortfall.

Mortimer noted that Idaho funded school technology for years, at the prodding of his predecessor, former Sen. Mel Richardson, R-Idaho Falls. But this year, no money was specifically allocated to it, as lawmakers moved the various specific line-items in the school budget into the discretionary category to allow school districts flexibility to cope with this year's unprecedented $128.5 million budget cut. But Mortimer said his local school district is spending more on technology now, not less. "They have seen the importance of the technology in their classrooms," he said. "Are we going to go backward instead of forwards?"