Debate: ‘Have to change,’ ‘Double-dipping,’ ‘Difficult for rural districts’

Sen. John Tippets, R-Montpelier, said, “This isn’t the bill that I would have drafted.” He said the bill “gets a bad rap” because it has to fund the earlier bills lawmakers passed. But he said he likes the funding mechanism in this bill “better than the original,” which sought to increase class sizes and eliminate hundreds of teaching positions to generate savings for technology boosts and merit pay. “Senators, I believe we have to change,” Tippets said, noting that employers expect people to have online skills.

Sen. Elliot Werk, D-Boise, said, “If you think our kids don’t know technology, you’re fooling yourself.” He noted that virtual charter schools that already receive state funding for student computers from school transportation funds would qualify for new funding under the bill, which would pay to phase in purchases of one computer for every high school student over several years; those schools that already have one computer per student would get the money as discretionary funding. “We’re going to be handing over a bunch of money to the virtual schools,” Werk said. “They’ll be double-dipping in that pot.”

Sen. Joyce Broadsword, R-Sagle, said, “This legislation is going to make it really difficult for my little rural school districts that are already struggling to make ends meet. The bottom line is we’re providing mandates, unnecessary technology and a loss of pay for teachers.”