School reform moves closer to reality

COEUR d’ALENE — School reform moved closer on Thursday to becoming a reality in Idaho.

The Idaho Senate passed two out of three key pieces of legislation that comprise the comprehensive education overhaul plan proposed in January by Idaho public school chief Tom Luna and Gov. Butch Otter.

One of the measures limits the bargaining powers of district-level local teachers unions, and also eliminates indefinite continuing contracts for all new teachers, and any who have not yet been given tenure. The other bill provides pay bonuses for high-performing schools and individual teachers.

Sponsors of the legislation say the bills will hand more power over to locally elected school boards and remove barriers to awarding good teachers and getting rid of less effective teachers.

Both Republican-backed bills passed with a 20-15 vote in which opposition was largely bipartisan.

The five state senators representing North Idaho districts, all Republicans, were divided in their voting.

Sen. Shawn Keogh, of Sandpoint, and Sen. Joyce Broadsword, of Sagle, were among eight Republicans who joined all seven of Idaho’s Senate Democrats in opposing both measures. ?“This is a direct slap in the face of every teacher in our classrooms who make our students want to learn...when we tell them they are not valued for what they do,” said Broadsword, prior to voting on the bill addressing collective bargaining. “I disagree that we have done a good thing here. I cannot support this legislation.”

Keough said one of her concerns with the bill was that “stake holders were not a part of this discussion up front.”

She said she has heard from school administrators and board members in her district asking that lawmakers wait to decide on this legislation.

“To turn upside town teacher contract law without adequate deliberation and involvement will further undermine our efftorts to truly put students first,” Keough said.

Senators Jim Hammond, of Coeur d’Alene, Steve Vick, of Dalton Gardens, and John Goedde, of Coeur d’Alene, were among the 20 Republicans who voted in favor of passage of the measures.

Amid opposition from parents, teachers and the state teachers union, last week the Senate Education Committee, which Goedde chairs, sent the three bills that make up the Students Come First education reforms from the committee to the full Senate.

One bill that calls for advancing classroom technology and increasing online learning by high school students while eliminating teaching positions to fund it, was sent back to the committee earlier this week for additional changes.

In addition to phasing out tenure, and limiting collective bargaining to salaries and benefits, the “labor and employee entitlements” legislation also includes a requirement that parental input be included in teacher evaluations.

The bill eliminates job security for teachers based on seniority, and gives principals the final say on whether a teacher will join his or her building staff.

The legislation would also:

• limit the length of negotiated labor agreements to one year;

• eliminate “evergreen” clauses from negotiated labor agreements. These clauses protect decisions made by previous school boards;

• require that unions provide documentation that they represent more than 50 percent of employees in order for collective bargaining to take place;

• require that all labor negotiations be conducted during public meetings.

Sen. Jim Hammond, a former educator, said that while he’s “not crazy about this bill and the way it’s worded,” he “fears delay will move us back to the status quo and we won’t really get to the point where we need to be.”

“If we truly hold our children and their education sacred, no one should be above dismissal, and no one should be afraid of dismissal,” Hammond said.

The second piece of legislation passed Thursday addresses pay for performance for teachers.

The plan was previously structured and negotiated by educational stakeholders, including the Idaho Education Association, the state teachers union, when Idaho was considering competing for one of the Obama administration’s Race to the Top grants.

The bonuses will be based on student achievement determined by academic growth. Additional financial rewards will be given to teachers who take on leadership roles, and perform extra duties beyond what they do in the classroom, or take on positions that are hard to fill.

Some lawmakers who opposed the pay for performance bill were concerned about a lack of designated funding to pay for the merit bonuses promised by the legislation.

Goedde explained that the program will be financed with a $38 million general fund appropriation in fiscal year 2013. The appropriation increases to $51.3 million in subsequent years.

The fiscal note attached to the legislation indicates the annual cost of the bonuses will be offset by anticipated savings from implementing the technology and online learning piece of the Students Come First legislation that is still in the Senate Education Committee.

Idaho Education Association President Sherri Wood sent out a prepared statement Thursday in response to the legislation’s passage.

“Twenty members of the Idaho Senate today defied Idahoans by voting to advance two of the three bills in Superintendent Tom Luna’s cynical package to overhaul education in Idaho,” Wood said. “Many of the senators noted in debate that they’ve heard more public opposition to this plan than on any other issue in their careers, yet 20 of them ignored that input and voted to pass the bills.”

Associated Press writer Jessie L. Bonner contributed to this story.