Idaho finds consensus on teacher pay-increase bill

BOISE - Something rare emerged at the Idaho Legislature on Friday - consensus on a major teacher pay bill. Teachers, school districts, lawmakers and state officials all backed the new plan, the third version proposed in the past two weeks, saying it’ll boost Idaho teacher pay and begin correcting a crisis in attracting and keeping teachers in the state. “It’s been a long and challenging process to get to this point, but it’s nice to be here,” Robin Nettinga, executive director of the Idaho Education Association, told the House Education Committee. “You spent hours listening to teachers last week. They felt respected, they felt valued and they felt supported. … We’re hopeful that the work that we’ve begun in this session signals a new beginning for us, so thank you for your part in this.” The bill, HB 296, will raise state funding for teacher pay every year for the next five years, with next year’s boost at $33.5 million. Teachers would qualify for the raises by meeting performance standards along with factors including experience and additional education, and additional premiums could be earned for leadership and for “master” teachers. Final amounts paid to teachers are determined by school districts, but the law specifies the amount that districts would be provided by the state; that amount would go up, for teachers at every level, each year for the next five years. Idaho’s minimum teacher salary is now $31,750, and a third of the state’s teachers have been stuck at that level for years. By the end of the five-year phase-in, the minimum would be $37,000. An experienced teacher who’s now at the minimum would get 4.5 percent more in state funding next year to hit $33,200, and by the end of the five years would be up to $44,375; a master’s degree would bump that up to $47,875. Don Coberly, Boise School District superintendent, said, “For nearly eight years, the debate about public education in Idaho has been rancorous and divisive.” But now, he said, “We believe that the product is a bill, HB 296, that has the potential to not only change the discussion about education but the direction for our schools, our teachers and our students.” He praised lawmakers for backing away from requirements to use student test scores as part of teachers’ evaluations, which he said research shows is “ill-advised.” Nettinga said key changes in the final bill from teachers’ perspective include that teachers will be involved in discussions on how the new pay system works, and “teachers will not be held accountable for things that are out of their control.” She praised all parties’ “willingness to help quell many of the apprehensions voiced by teachers.” Others speaking out in favor of the bill Friday included Gov. Butch Otter; House Speaker Scott Bedke and Senate President Pro-Tem Brent Hill; lawmakers from both parties; and representatives of the state associations of school boards, school administrators and rural schools. Rod Gramer, president of Idaho Business for Education, said, “You have created a bill that although not perfect, is one that can receive wide, diverse and bipartisan support.” The state will have to spend about $125 million more on teacher salaries over the next five years under the bill, compared to staying with current law. House Education Chairman Reed DeMordaunt, R-Eagle, scrapped two earlier versions of the bill after various objections were raised. “Tonight, I may sleep,” he said Friday. Hill, the Senate president pro-tem, said, “Legislators recognize the need to invest in our education system.” Bedke called the bill “a long-term commitment we must make to improve our education system.”