Mortimer motion on Teachers Division fails, 7-12

Sen. Dean Mortimer’s motion to cut $4.25 million for professional development out of the Teachers Division of the public school budget – in order to allow that money to be shifted to a new line item for health insurance – has failed on a 7-12 vote in the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee.

Mortimer argued, “Those moneys need to come from somewhere, and you can’t increase every program a like amount if you’re going to put $15 million into a line item for health insurance.”

After Mortimer’s substitute motion failed, Rep. Wendy Horman’s original motion, keeping the $4.25 million recommendation in for increased professional development for teachers, passed 17-2, with just Mortimer and Sen. Shawn Keough opposing it.

Here’s how the vote broke down on Mortimer’s motion:

Voting in favor: Sens. Keough, Mortimer, Lee, Dixon, Martin, Bair and Souza.

Voting against: Sens. Ward-Engelking, Agenbroad and Nye; and Reps. Bell, Youngblood, Miller, Horman, Malek, Burtenshaw, Anderson, King, Wintrow.