State Superintendent of Schools Tom Luna has sent out a statement on today's budget-setting decisions in JFAC. “While no one is happy with this budget to cut public education, I am pleased we were able to come to consensus and craft a budget that will…
Gov. Butch Otter's budget director, Wayne Hammon, joined Reps. Anne Pasley Stuart, D-Boise, and Elfreda Higgins, D-Garden City, this afternoon to support HB 604, the two representatives' legislation to ban state-funded retirement bonuses in exchange for state employees agreeing to retire early. "It appears that…
Here's a link to my full story at spokesman.com on today's budget-setting decisions for public schools for next year, the biggest single slice of the state's budget pie. It's all rolled up now into a single bill, which still needs House and Senate approval and…
Controversial legislation from Rep. Bob Nonini, R-Coeur d'Alene, to amend Idaho's "any willing provider" law on health insurance policies prompted much debate in the House today, keeping lawmakers on the floor debating right through the lunch hour before finally failing on a 31-39 vote. The…
The Idaho Senate has voted 27-7 in favor of SB 1381, legislation from Sen. Chuck Winder, R-Boise, to require the Legislature to review all sales tax exemptions at least once every five years, and to make any new ones enacted after July 1, 2010 expire…
State Superintendent of Schools Tom Luna said he was surprised at the last-minute clause tacked onto the public schools budget set by JFAC today, declaring a financial emergency for all school districts statewide and letting them reopen negotiated teacher contracts. "That's the first time I…
Sherri Wood, president of the Idaho Education Association, was clearly feeling betrayed after JFAC's meeting today, in which the joint committee set a budget for public schools for next year that matched an agreement worked out among education stakeholders including the IEA - but tacked…
Now JFAC has finished setting the school budget; Senate Finance Chairman Dean Cameron, R-Rupert, thanked legislative budget analyst Paul Headlee, the House and Senate education committee chairmen, and all the education stakeholders who participated in meetings that helped craft the blueprint for the budget, "all…
Rep. Shirley Ringo, D-Moscow, proposed to drain $7.4 million from a $25 million fund that's been sitting for years for school districts that have unsafe schools and can't pass bond issues to replace them. No one's ever tapped the fund, but the Plummer-Worley School District…
JFAC has voted 12-7 in favor of Rep. Fred Wood's proposal to declare a financial emergency for every school district in the state for the coming year, allowing any district that chooses to to reopen existing contracts with teachers to renegotiate pay, benefits or contract…
"None of us like the job that we have to do this year," said Rep. Fred Wood, R-Burley. He said that applies not just to the school budget but to all state agency budgets lawmakers are having to set this year. Wood has now moved…
A final motion on the co-chairs' intent language allows schools to shift money around in their current year budget in certain areas, if they need to. Those areas include gifted and talented teacher training, school supplies, technology, textbooks, and safe and drug-free schools. "This just…
There were lots of questions about various clauses of the school budget intent language, particularly from Democrats on the committee. Among the clauses are one that would forbid any discretionary funds to school districts next year from being used for any pay raises for employees;…
JFAC is now examining intent language to go along with the numbers it's just set for the public school budget for next year. There are 10 pages that go with the blueprint that was developed after meetings with education stakeholders, and that won support in…
The next division of the public school budget, for facilities, passed unanimously, with no alternatives proposed to the blueprint put together by a group headed by JFAC co-chairs Sen. Dean Cameron and Rep. Maxine Bell. Then, the final one, for educational services for the deaf…
For the "children's programs" division of the public school budget, Rep. Maxine Bell, R-Jerome, JFAC co-chair, proposed the plan developed by the JFAC co-chairs, other lawmakers and a group of education stakeholders. "Like all the other budgets, these programs were scrutinized ... to see what…
The Democrats' alternative proposal - to bring in $37.2 million more in state revenues through a series of steps and add that to next year's school budget - has failed on a 4-14 party-line vote. The original motion for the operations division then passed 15-4,…
Rep. Shirley Ringo, D-Boise, is offering a substitute motion on the operations portion of the public school budget. The plan developed by a group headed by the JFAC co-chairs for that portion of the budget shows a big decrease, as federal stimulus money goes away,…
Rep. Cliff Bayer's alternative motion has failed on a 3-16 vote, with just Reps. George Eskridge, R-Dover, and Frank Henderson, R-Post Falls, supporting Bayer. Then, the original motion for the teachers division of the public school budget, the one developed by a group headed by…
Rep. Cliff Bayer, R-Boise, has proposed an alternative motion for the teachers division, this one to set the minimum starting teacher salary at $30,000, rather than $29,655. It's now $30,915. The change means overall base salary reductions for teachers have to be bumped up to…
Sen. Jim Hammond, R-Post Falls, has proposed the second motion on the school budget, this one for the division of teachers. It includes a 4 percent base pay cut, plus cutting out raises for additional experience or education next year. "Again I don't love this…
The first piece of the schools budget is the motion for the administrators division; it just passed on a straight party-line vote, 15-4. JFAC Co-Chair Maxine Bell, R-Jerome, proposed the budget, which includes a 6.5 percent pay cut for administrators. Rep. Wendy Jaquet, D-Ketchum, spoke…
Now, it's time to set the public school budget. Overall, the budget proposal developed by the JFAC co-chairs and vice-chairs, along with Sen. Jim Hammond, R-Post Falls, after long meetings with stakeholder groups including the Idaho Education Association, the Idaho Association of School Administrators, the…
Idaho's state Department of Environmental Quality would see an 8.8 percent cut in state general funds next year and a 19.7 percent cut overall, under a budget just approved unanimously by JFAC. The department will lose six more positions as part of the plan. Sen.…
A budget for the state Department of Lands for next year that reflects an 11 percent cut in state general funds, and a 17.4 percent cut overall, won unanimous support in JFAC this morning on a 19-0 vote. It includes a plan to expand the…
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