‘Time it takes to soft-boil an egg’

Pat Bollar, a teacher from Rupert, got a warm laugh from the crowd with her closing comment: “Three minutes is the time it takes to soft-boil an egg, not express opinions from a lifetime in teaching.” That’s all the time people are being allotted to testify today, and the hearing has been moving briskly from one three-minute talk to the next.

Bollar told lawmakers, “Please don’t demean the importance of teachers in the classrooms. Please don’t believe that virtual education is anything different than what the name implies, to be seemingly but not really there.”

Steve Smylie, a former state lawmaker and former candidate for state superintendent of schools, was the second person today to plead to restore funding for a school in Boise that serves pregnant high school girls; its state funding has been eliminated.

Ryan Kerby, superintendent of schools in New Plymouth, spoke in favor of the Luna reform plan. “We have a former Idaho teacher of the year in New Plymouth. She has a computer for every student in her room and has told me that is heaven on earth,” he told lawmakers.

Kymberly Herridge, a parent from Boise, said, “I come before you today with a stomach full of nerves and a heart full of pleas.” She said while others have chosen online education for their kids, “My husband and I have chosen traditional neighborhood schools for our, where they are thriving.” She said, “Think about the teachers that you had and how they have impacted your life…. Tell me how a computer is going to do that. Please don’t take away my choice.”