Rep. Reed DeMordaunt, R-Eagle, told the House he chaired a committee sponsored by the Albertson Foundation that researched pay for performance systems around the United States. Studies showed they helped students improve, he said. DeMordaunt said in his view, SB 1110 would "put something in place that really would make a difference." He said the important thing to do is "keep student outcomes first," and said, "We have an opportunity today ... to send a message that we value effective teaching." Said DeMordaunt, "This has been a bipartisan approach throughout our nation, and there's no reason it shouldn't be today."

Rep. Christy Perry, R-Nampa, said, "We are somehow thinking that we have to create another new funding mechanism in order to do this, and that really kind of has me concerned." She said public schools already receive a big share of state funds plus funds from other sources, from federal grants to local tax levies. "I just can't think of any other agency in the state that has that kind of money being put into it," she said. "It's not a matter necessarily of finding more and more money. I think this really boils down to focusing on the money that we do have and the manner in which it is spent."

Rep. Ken Andrus, R-Lava Hot Springs, said he's agonized over this vote. "I think that teachers are feeling frustrated and they're feeling very unappreciated," he said. "That bothers me a lot, because these are people who are in the classroom every day. They're dealing with our unruly children every day. They're dealing with problems that were not there when I went to school." He said, "Are we telling them that they are ineffective? ... What does that do to them? That's not positive dialogue." He said he's always been a proponent of merit pay. But as a former school board member, he said he's concluded that basing merit pay on student test scores isn't justifiable. Plus, he identified other problems in the bill, such as rewarding an entire school based on school-wide performance, even if there's an ineffective teacher there. Andrus said he respects the input from his local school district. "I think it would be irresponsible of me if I did not." Andrus, who voted in favor of SB 1108 yesterday, the teacher contract bill, said, "Hopefully I'll be able to sleep better tonight than I did last night."