Education budget is promising development
On Monday, March 5, the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee, the Legislature’s budget committee of which Sen. Joyce Broadsword, Rep. George Eskridge, and I are members, set the largest portion of the Idaho’s budget — public education — for the next fiscal year. This budget will go into effect July 1, 2012, and includes the 2012-2013 school year.
JFAC approved an increase in general fund revenues of 4.6 percent for public schools for the next fiscal year. Like other portions of the state budget during the economic downturn, public education has had to endure difficult cuts in recent years. This increase offsets the nearly $50 million worth of cuts that occurred in this current fiscal year. There are many positive features in this adopted budget, which still has to pass the Idaho House and Senate, and be signed by the governor, before it may go into effect.
Next year’s public schools budget will stop the requirement included in last year’s education reform laws which would cut salaries in order to use the money to pay for new technology programs.
I had problems with this funding mechanism as it had immediate impacts, most notably being increases of property tax levies in many areas across the state as school districts had to fill the hole caused by the reform package to begin to find money for the unfunded state mandates. I am glad the Legislature is taking steps this year to fix this.
The budget committee set aside funding for the technology components with about $9 million going to advance classroom technology for all grades and ongoing training to integrate technology in the classroom where appropriate. Funding technology upgrades in our classrooms here at the state level helps to prevent local school districts from asking voters to pay higher property taxes in order to finance these programs.
The minimum salary for beginning teachers will be bumped up to $30,500 and the state will fully fund current movement on the salary grid for teachers who gain years of experience and more education. Another unfunded mandate from last year’s school reform package was fixed as the budget committee set aside an estimated $39 million for the implementation of the statewide pay-for-performance plan.
The budget also sets $4 million to fund growth in student enrollment, including additional teaching positions in growing districts, which is an effort to keep class sizes down. Other important programs were funded, too. The committee set aside $9.4 million in continued funding for the Idaho Reading Initiative, Idaho Math Initiative, and ISAT testing remediation. These programs are showing that students are improving in the critical skills of reading and math.
My colleagues and I are pleased Idaho’s long-term budget picture is improving as the economy recovers. The public schools budget adopted for next year balances many competing priorities and steps up to begin the funding of the state mandates put in place last year. It also recognizes that Idaho’s young people need a high level of education and skills to do well in an increasingly competitive job market and in today’s world.
Shawn Keough represents District 1 in the Idaho Senate.