Senate preparing to adjourn, House locked in debate over teacher contract bill

The Senate is sending committees to notify the House and the governor that it’s prepared to adjourn sine die. Meanwhile, the House is locked in debate on SB 1040a, a bill that lets school districts cut teacher pay from one year to the next and makes other changes to teacher contracts, including changing dates. Rep. Janie Ward-Engelking, D-Boise, urged the House to reject the bill. “This bill guts teachers’ contracts,” she said. She said SB 1146, which already passed both houses, lets school districts lower teachers’ salaries if they declare a financial emergency.

“If we continue to erode teachers’ rights in contracts, I’m worried they’re going to become little more than indentured servants,” she said, “and this is a road we don’t want to go down. We want our best and brightest to enter the teaching profession. We want them to say in Idaho.”