Senate Finance Chairman Dean Cameron, R-Rupert, is pitching SB 1331, his bill to reverse the future cuts in state teacher salary funds required by the "Students Come First" reform law, to the Senate Education Committee this afternoon. "As long as I've been here, public schools has been and I hope always will remain the highest priority to fund," Cameron told the Senate committee. The bill has a $34.7 million fiscal impact over five years, he said; it would move the budgeting process for public schools back to how it was prior to Students Come First when it comes to funding teacher salaries. The law, passed last year, scheduled future cuts in the salary funds to pay for technology boosts and performance-pay bonuses.

Cameron's bill has 15 Senate co-sponsors, including Sen. John Goedde, R-Coeur d'Alene, the education committee chairman. Among those testifying in favor of the bill so far: Rob Winslow, executive director of the Idaho Association of School Administrators, who told the committee, "We highly support this," and Jason Hancock, aide to state schools Supt. Tom Luna, who read a letter in support. Luna, in his letter, said if lawmakers are now confident they can cover the reform initiatives without salary cuts, "This is good news. This means our reform efforts can move forward with full funding." Representatives of the Idaho School Boards Association and Idaho Education Association also spoke in favor of the bill.