Breaking (from Eye on Boise): The Senate has defeated the public school budget, HB 323, by one vote; it was 17-18.

Debate: After comments from Sen. Cliff Bayer, R-Boise, against HB 323, the school budget, Sen. Dean Cameron, R-Rupert, has begun his closing debate. “It is our highest priority to fund public education,” he told the Senate. “This isn’t an easy budget. It’s not easy because it contains many pieces and factors that in the past myself personally have stood and opposed. … It seems almost a little bit surreal that I’m standing here with a budget that has money in it for excellence in education awards, when I have opposed that in the past, and some of my friends who were supporters of that concept are now opposing this budget”/Betsy Russell, Eye on Boise. More here.

• Also: Goedde: 'We're puring money into a broken system'/Eye on Boise

How they voted:

• Voting in favor of the budget bill: Sens. Bock, Buckner-Webb, Cameron, Davis, Durst, Hill, Johnson, Keough, Lacey, Lakey, Lodge, McKenzie, Rice, Schmidt, Stennett, Tippets, and Werk.
• Voting against: Sens. Bair, Bayer, Brackett, Fulcher, Goedde, Guthrie, Hagedorn, Heider, Martin, Mortimer, Nonini, Nuxoll, Patrick, Pearce, Siddoway, Thayn, Vick, and Winder.

Question: 4 of 5 North Idaho senators opposed the public education budget. Only Shawn Keough, of Senate District 1, supported it in North Idaho. Thoughts?

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