House panel OKs teacher pay raise bill

Idaho’s veteran educators are in the limelight after being overlooked last year when lawmakers passed legislation that increased the starting pay for new teachers.

On Wednesday, the House Education Committee passed a $233 million teacher pay proposal that would be awarded to high-achieving educators through a five-year allotted plan.

Two of Governor Brad Little’s staff, Senior Policy Advisor for Education Gregory Wilson and Division of Financial Management Administrator Alex Adams, presented the next phase of Idaho’s career ladder model which would increase funding to districts and charter schools throughout the state. These models are part of Gov. Little’s “Our Kids, Idaho’s Future” Task Force recommendations aimed at improving different aspects of the State’s K-12 education system.

“This bill assists districts and charters with recruiting and retaining quality and experienced educators. It is a critical investment on improving outcomes for students,” said Wilson. “Whether it is providing personalized learning, ensuring our students are reading proficiently by the third grade, or providing opportunities for dual credit, the educator is the number one factor.”

If passed, the law would go into effect this July prompting gradual salary increases over the next five years. The career ladder apportionment from 2021 to 2025 would increase 84 percent from $32,489,459 to $59,798,969, with a projected total fiscal impact of $223,611,448.

“By having the funding identified in this bill we will be able to strategically manage our resources in the future,” said Jonathan Gillen, the West Ada School District Chief Financial Officer. “This will allow us to maintain our focus on the classroom and the students within it, and identify our dollars in a way to ensure we are helping our kids.”

Eligibility for the salary increases would be based on an educator’s overall rating of proficient or higher on criteria like national student achievement testing (ISAT,SAT, or ACT), student learning objectives, pre and post tests, and end of course exams.

Idaho educators have been consistently paid less than the national average, however last year’s pay raises were of the largest nationally, improving 3.1 percent in 2019, and 3.6 percent in 2018 according to Idaho Education News. This is a direct result of last year’s legislation which cost the state approximately $3.8 million in 2020 and $7.7 million in 2021.

In addition to state fundings, school districts and charter schools are independently responsible for supplying the remainder of staff pay. As a result, teachers experience heavy salary disparity between districts, in turn, affecting retention and recruitment of educators across the state. As of January 2020 the average Idaho Public School Teacher salary is $54,476 but ranges from $47,560 to $62,887.

“This proposal levels the playing field across Idaho, narrows the gaps between districts, relieves the burdens on local taxpayers and opens up resources for other district priorities, and increases competition for teaching talent with other states,” said Wilson.

The lack of competitive, stable salaries cause schools to lose teachers to wealthier areas and create low retention rates affecting student success and stability in Idaho’s rural, smaller communities. This is a regular problem in regions such as Kootenai, Washington, Benewah, Latah, Nez Perce, Payette and Teton county which border the higher-paying states of Washington, Oregon, and Wyoming. There is also internal competition from the West Ada, Boise and Blaine districts.

“As we all know the teacher shortage is real, recruitment and retention of teachers continues to be a major concern for school administrators,” said Idaho Rural Schools Association Director Harold Ott. “Moving our top allocation from $50,000 to $63,000 over a five-year phase in will help substantially in retaining our veteran, highly qualified teachers.”

Educators from Nezperce, Kimberly, Rexburg and Teton County testified in front of the committee in resounding support of the bill the first day of hearing. On Wednesday, state agency representatives and educational administrators further defended the success the bill would bring the state and it’s educators.

“The career ladder is vitally important to the successful operations of our districts, the past five years have allowed us to provide substantial and well deserved increases to our teachers,” said Gillen. “These increases allow us to stay competitive both within the state of Idaho and with our peers from around the region.”

Many members of the committee expressed their support during the closing discussion, inevitably passing the bill in a unanimous vote to send the bill to the House floor.

“This bill is going to be especially helpful to rural schools with low property values, schools that can absolutely not compete for teachers. After four, five, or six years they leave for bigger districts nearby, richer districts nearby, they go across the stateline,” said Rep. Ryan Kerby (R-New Plymouth). “Last year Fruitland lost five teachers to Oregon, this is not fair to our kids to constantly be losing your best teachers.”

The bill will be heard by the entire House in the coming weeks and, if passed, heard by the Senate soon after.

Madison Hardy is an intern with the University of Idaho McClure Center for Public Policy Research and the UI JAMM News Service.