State schools chief Tom Luna said the way he'd fund his new program is by shifts in the current school system, including enlarging average class sizes by 1.25 students per teacher in grades 4-12 to save $62.8 million. He'd bump that up another three-quarters of a student in 2013. "Just look at what we can accomplish by spending what we currently have differently," he said. "We can give all students laptops. ... We can provide teacher training... We can restore the salary grid, we can raise minimum teacher pay." Other funding shifts include eliminating the 99 percent funding protection for school districts from year to year to save $5.4 million. "There's nothing in this plan that hurts Idaho students," Luna declared. "It may be a little difficult for adults, but there's nothing in this plan that hurts Idaho students or will have a negative impact on student achievement."

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