State Superintendent of Schools Tom Luna has begun his school-reform presentation to a joint meeting of the House and Senate education committees, first thanking the committees for granting his and Gov. Butch Otter's request for the joint meeting. "Now is the time for us to make significant, comprehensive changes to Idaho's education system," Luna declared. He touted gains in student achievement in recent years, but said they're not enough.

"The current system has become the No. 1 stumbling block to further improvement, because it is financially unsustainable," Luna said. He said, "We must have a system that can educate more students at a higher level with limited resources. The current system cannot do that. ... Idahoans have made it clear... that they don't want further cuts to education and they don't want taxes increased. ... The answer is we must change the system."