Broadsword, Keough vote against bills

SANDPOINT — Bonner County’s senators bucked their party’s trend during the successful education reform legislation Thursday, contributing two nays to the 20-15 vote.

District 2 Sen. Joyce Broadsword, R-Cocolalla, said she represented the thousands of concerns she’d received from residents, parents, teachers and superintendents in voting against Senate Bills 1108 and 1110.

“I think that there were good things in both bills,” she said. “But there were also a lot of things that were hurtful, too.”

Broadsword didn’t see the need to rush the bills into law since the sweeping administrative and compensation changes don’t go into effect until 2012.

“Why not send the bill back and put more work into them over the summer?” she said.

In addition, Broadsword called out the unfunded pay-for-performance system introduced in the bill, worrying that the inclusion would put a greater financial burden on school levies. She also worried that the contract changes put schools in danger of very expensive lawsuits.

“I really respect the work that the Senate Education Committee put into these bills,” she said. “I just wish they were developed in a better way. And that’s not the committee’s fault — that’s Superintendent (Tom) Luna’s.”

District 1 Sen. Shawn Keough, R-Sandpoint, also cited area residents as her primary motivation for voting against the bills.

“The feedback I’ve received indicates that people are concerned about how this would be implemented on a local level,” she said. “I don’t think those concerns were addressed at all.”

As work continues on Senate Bill 1113, which covers the technological innovations of Luna’s plan, and the passed legislation moves to the House, Keough encourages residents to voice their opinions.

“The community from my district is very interested in school reform, but they want to be a part of the discussion,” she said. “I encourage everyone to stay involved and keep contacting us with their questions and concerns.”