Rep. Maxine Bell, R-Jerome, co-chair of the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee, told members of the joint committee this morning that, with the delay in setting the public school budget, "This will give you ample time to look at the intent language that goes with the public school budget, which will be up Wednesday." Bell told reporters that the proposed intent language, which runs a dozen pages, is something every legislator is wanting to review before budget-setting. "We now have a committee of 105," she said with a smile. "Everybody felt ... it's such a difficult year for K-12 that all members of the body need to be able to see. ... We are out of our comfort zone." This is not how the joint committee usually sets budgets, she noted, and the chairmen of the germane committees in each house, the House and Senate education committees, are working on some additional pieces that really shouldn't be part of budget-setting. "They're pure policy," Bell said. The intent language that JFAC is developing will be "speaking to the numbers, making the numbers work."

The budget proposes an unprecedented overall cut of 8.5 percent in funding for schools. Last year, schools saw a cut in state general funds for the first time ever, but that was made up with federal stimulus money for an overall tiny fraction of a percent increase. "Last year, we covered," Bell said. "We're out of cover." She added, "This is a hard pill for people to swallow, for a lot of people. ... We're trying not to lose any school teachers, any educators, but to keep them on a little less." And at the same time, she said, cuts in other areas of the state budget are raising concerns about health and safety. "We already have people out there on furlough days," and that'll continue into next year, Bell said. "In my mind, health and safety are right up there ... and they're concerning. ... I think most educators understand that, I really do."

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