Panel takes up school budget

BOISE – Teachers converged on the state Capitol on Thursday, lawmakers dug into numbers, and officials started trying to fashion an answer to a central question of this year’s legislative session: Will the Legislature adequately fund public schools, now that it has eliminated the property taxes that long formed the base of school support?

“This is a litmus session in that regard,” said House Assistant Minority Leader George Sayler, D-Coeur d’Alene. “The pledge was we’re going to support education adequately. The money is there to do it. … Will we follow through?”

New GOP schools Superintendent Tom Luna presented his budget proposal to legislative budget writers in the morning to generally good reviews, calling for a 7 percent boost in state funding for schools next year to $1.38 billion.

“Our children deserve a great education system, and I believe we can do it,” Luna told the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee. He added, “We have an incredible opportunity before us – we have a governor, a Legislature, teachers, parents and myself all on the same page.”

Meanwhile, teachers from all over the state – three from each legislative district – gathered at the Capitol to educate lawmakers and state officials about what they do and to press for “adequate, stable funding” for public schools.

“I think it’s a start – I was pleased to see the amount,” third-grade teacher Paula Marano, of Coeur d’Alene, said of Luna’s budget. She said she came to Boise for “the dialogue and discussion that we can share together.”

The Skyway Elementary School teacher said a strong educational system will help Idaho with everything from its prison problems to its business climate. But she also warned that Idaho must keep its teacher salaries competitive.

In August, lawmakers met in special session and eliminated the property tax levy that provided the basic operating money for public schools in Idaho, while raising the sales tax from 5 percent to 6 percent. The move was designed to provide property tax relief, without trimming school funding – but it also gave lawmakers more say over how much schools will have to spend each year on basic operations. They’ll need to allocate state tax funds each year to cover what previously came automatically to school districts from local property taxes.

The teachers delivered 11,000 postcards to lawmakers on Thursday noting that Idaho ranks 45th in the nation in per-pupil spending, has the eighth-most-crowded classrooms, and in some districts, lacks up-to-date textbooks and materials.

“For our children’s sake and for Idaho’s future, please support proposals that will provide adequate and stable funding for our public schools,” the postcards urged.

Luna’s budget focused on some of the same issues, targeting specific new state funding to classroom supplies and textbooks. His $24 million “classroom enhancement package” includes $10 million specifically for textbook purchases; $5.1 million for classroom supplies, from which each teacher would be given $350 to spend; $6 million for remediation for kids who are falling behind; and $3.5 million to pay for college classes for high-performing high school juniors and seniors.

“I thought he did really well, especially looking down at some of these line items,” said Rep. Shirley Ringo, D-Moscow. However, she added, “I’d like to see more for the teachers.”

Senate Finance Chair Dean Cameron, R-Rupert, said, “I think he was pretty compelling on some of the issues. … We rarely give anybody everything they want. We have some ideas of our own. We’ll evaluate it, and take into consideration what he’s requested.”

Gov. Butch Otter’s proposed budget for public schools didn’t fund Luna’s initiatives, but it pumped in enough money to cover 5 percent in raises, while Luna budgeted for 3 percent raises for school employees. As a result, the two plans are only $20 million apart.

Senate Finance Vice Chair Shawn Keough, R-Sandpoint, said it will be a challenge for lawmakers to make up that gap. “My sense today is we’ll see his proposals supported in some fashion,” she said.

The visiting teachers distributed quizzes and a study guide to lawmakers about education in Idaho, playing on the words of the No Child Left Behind Act, which requires students to pass tests to prove schools are making “A.Y.P.” or “Adequate Yearly Progress.” Idaho Education Association President Sherri Wood said teachers were passing out “the Legislative Study Guide to Help Meet A.S.F., Adequate Stable Funding.”

Sayler, a retired high school teacher, said, “I think adequate, stable funding should be the reality in place. I think this legislative session should be really important in that regard.”

Sen. Diane Bilyeu, D-Pocatello, asked Luna why Otter’s budget differed from his. Luna responded that he thought it was “encouraging” that his budget and Otter’s are within $20 million of each other.

“I have had discussions with the governor and his staff … (on) how we can close the gap,” he said. He noted that some of the initiatives he’s proposing are items that Otter mentioned in his State of the State address, even if the governor didn’t allocate money for them in his budget plan.

“He’s supportive of them. We just need to figure out how to pay for them,” Luna told lawmakers. “We’re on the same page. We just need to get on the same paragraph.”