Shannon Hotchkiss, a teacher from Nampa, was quizzed by House Education Committee members after her testimony against SB 1108 and 1110. Asked if she'd ever seen a teacher be removed, she recalled an incident at her school 20 years ago in which a teacher was removed, after due process. Asked about the pay-for-performance plan, she noted that her current pay is just $30,000; she's in a master's degree program that she'll finish in June, which under the current system would bring her a pay raise, but not under the proposal. "That's a huge unknown," she said. "We're already living in a bunch of unknowns."

Wayne Hoffman, executive director of the Idaho Freedom Foundation, also was quizzed by the committee members after his testimony in favor of the bills. Asked what teachers should do if, as the bill provides, they're laid off in October because enrollment has dropped, and can't find a job again before the following September, Hoffman said it's worse for the state to spend money funding "students that don't exist." SB 1108 eliminates the current 99 percent funding floor for school districts that protects them against sharp funding drops in a single year. The bill replaces that provision with severance payments for teachers laid off in the fall when enrollments drop; state schools Supt. Tom Luna maintains the current provision constitutes double-funding for students who move from one district to another.