Rep. Shirley Ringo, D-Moscow, told the House, "I don't have any particular heartburn with alternative methods of pay." But she said Idaho in the past has promised pay programs like this one - including a career-ladder program in 1980, when she was teaching, and a mentoring program - and then, despite much work on the plans, never implemented them because there was no funding. "If we're going to ask that educators move forward with this, I think there has to be a strong commitment to the pay ... new money and a commitment to fund it. And I'm not sure we're there."

Ringo also questioned SB 1110's provisions that would base some teacher bonuses on student growth, as measured by test scores. That might work in elementary grades, where learning is more linear, she said, but in high school, students study different disciplines each year. A student may do well in algebra one year, for example, but not so well in geometry the next, she said, or vice versa. "I do see a problem there, and perhaps generally in other high school disciplines."

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