The following editorial appeared Thursday in the Times-News of Twin Falls, Idaho.

How hard can this be? Idaho Education Association President Sherri Wood’s number is in the phone book. Why haven’t state Sen. Robert Geddes, R-Soda Springs, and state Rep. Scott Bedke, R-Oakley, been in touch with her?

Geddes, the leader of Republicans in the Senate, and Bedke, the No. 3 Republican in the House, introduced legislation earlier this year to allow teachers to either keep their “ongoing contracts” – referred to as tenure – or concede them for incremental salary increases. Starting salaries would rise from $31,000 to $34,000 and top salaries could be around $60,000.

The proposal was strictly for discussion, and lawmakers promised to meet with the Idaho Education Association, the state teacher union for about 12,700 educators, before the legislation returned in 2008. A 10-member task force was assembled.

But since lawmakers went home in April, a meeting has yet to be scheduled. Wood reports she hasn’t heard from Geddes or Bedke.

Geddes says he’s been too busy with the other interim business of the Legislature, and Bedke promises a conference call will be held soon to set up a meeting with the teachers’ union. But with school starting across the state and the Legislature set to convene soon, it’s hard to see how much progress can be made on the question of tenure vs. higher pay by January.

“It makes you wonder about priorities,” Jim Weatherby, retired political science professor at Boise State University and a specialist in Idaho government and politics, told the Times-News.

Geddes and Bedke’s proposal, a “career ladder” approach and not merit-based, is intended to reduce Idaho’s teacher shortage and improve salaries.

A career ladder is part of a national movement to upgrade the teaching profession by creating steps for career advancement; in effect, that means the best teacher gets paid more than the average teacher. That’s long been anathema to the National Education Association, but the approach is popular in states where it’s been tried.

And for highly qualified and motivated teachers, the financial rewards are tangible.

But legislators are dreaming if they think Idaho can reform the way teachers are paid without the participation of the IEA. It simply won’t happen.

So somebody has to make the first call. It may be state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Luna, who has called the proposal “a good start” to improve teacher pay. Luna told the Times-News editorial board that he plans to meet with IEA leadership soon.

Most teachers’ union members supported Luna’s Democratic opponent, Jana Jones, in last year’s election, but Idaho educators are reasonable people. Most recognize that the public’s demand for more accountability in schools is a fact of life, and most would like to find a way to earn more and still stay in the classroom.

So it’s time for a conversation.