Before finishing up its meeting today, the legislative panel charged with exploring updates to Idaho’s public school funding formula heard a report on five areas identified by a subcommittee for investigation as part of the process. The five: Virtual schools, which didn’t exist when Idaho’s funding formula last was revised in 1994; at-risk students; average daily attendance vs. enrollment; funding for exceptional students/special education; and salary apportionment for “super-classified” employees, defined as highly skilled classified workers like IT specialists.

All drew interest and questions. The panel also heard an update from Marilyn Whitney of the governor’s office on the five-year plan to implement 20 recommendations from his school improvement task force. “We are three years into a five-year plan,” Whitney told the lawmakers. “The governor has made it known that he’d like to reconvene that task force and look out beyond that five year implementation.”

The plan launched everything from Idaho's new teacher "career ladder," which seeks to raise teacher pay, to early-literacy efforts that are being launched this year, to opportunities for students to take advanced courses. The move toward “mastery” based advancement through school, rather than promoting students based on time in class – one of the 20 proposals – has drawn national attention, she said.