The Idaho Education Association advocates the professional and personal well-being of its members and the vision of excellence in public education.
Location:
620 N. 6th St.
Boise, ID 83701-2638
Phone:
800-727-9922
Mon - Fri:
8:00 am - 5:00 pm MST
Location:
620 N. 6th St.
Boise, ID 83701-2638
Phone:
800-727-9922
Mon - Fri:
8:00 am - 5:00 pm MST
New story from IEA Hotline
We received permission to share with you the following letter, which the superintendent of the Hansen School District sent to legislators last week.
I was dismayed to find a letter from the Idaho School Boards Association that would mislead legislators to believe th...e Hansen School Board was in favor of repealing Idaho Code 33-515. I do not intend to speak for my Board other than to say no discussion has occurred either for or against this action. To mislead the legislature into thinking support is unanimous is wrong and unethical. Many of the schools listed in region IV have not had the opportunity to meet or discuss the events of the past two weeks. One Board member stated that e-mail was received on a weekend (Saturday February 26), stating that if no response occurred, our school would then be added to the list as approving the proposal. Three, and possibly four, school board members did not receive the e-mail.
Our Board members do not act alone, and asking them to do so violates the spirit of their responsibility to one another and the patrons they serve. We are in the midst of gathering support for a supplemental levy. All of the misleading and conflicting information our patrons are hearing and reading make it more difficult for us to assure they receive accurate information.
I can’t express strongly enough my distaste for the misleading tone of the correspondence from the ISBA Region IV Representative. It did not honestly represent the views of every school board of the districts listed, but it certainly implied that it did.
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Monday is an important day for public schools. The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee (JFAC) will meet to set the Public Schools Budget for next school year.
In his State of the State address, Gov. Butch Otter recommended cutting the K-12 budget by as much as $1...35 million. In the first six weeks of the session, state revenue reports caused some lawmakers to project cuts as deep as $165 million.
However, if the JFAC adopts a budget based on the results of
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Through a series of motions this morning, the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee (JFAC) slashed this year’s state budget by 7.1 percent for all agencies, including public schools, and then shifted other funds to completely offset the shortfall for public schools. ...While schools will not have to deal with budget cuts mid-year, the hole for next year just got deeper.
JFAC passed the first motion today – to cut $188.75 million out of the current year’s budget -- on a party-line vote. Republicans on the committee voted for the motion; the four Democrats voted against it.
When it came to a decision about whether to restore funding for public schools, the decision was bipartisan…and unanimous.
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Tomorrow the chairs of the House and Senate Education Committees will present their budget recommendations to the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee (JFAC). This morning IEA President Sherri Wood told the House Education Committee her concerns about potential budg...et cuts and recommended ways the Legislature could avoid the damage cuts would impose.
She said Idaho’s 275,000 students are excelling even though public school funding has been a challenge for years. Seven years ago our schools had the 9th most crowded classrooms in the country and Idaho’s ranking for per student expenditures was 41st. As recently as five years ago, the average salary paid our teachers rated 30th. Now Idaho has the 6th largest class sizes in the nation, spends the 47th lowest amount per student, and pays teachers the 41st lowest salaries in the country.
“Idaho’s educators are already doing more with less than their colleagues across the country,” Wood said.
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If you have not already contacted the Land Board members and urged them to support State Superintendent Tom Luna’s proposal for tranferring $52.8 million from the Public Schools Earnings Reserve Fund to public schools, please do so immediately.
The Land Board will h...old a special meeting on Wednesday (Feb. 10) afternoon just to decide this issue.
As we reported last week, Gov. Butch Otter’s budget proposal for next year would reduce public school funding by a whopping $135 million. His holdback for this year and recommended budget cut for next year amount to a 9.3 percent cut for public schools.
Unlike the Public Education Stabilization Fund (PESF), the Public Schools Earnings Reserve Fund is not one of the state’s “rainy day” accounts to be tapped whenever financial times are tough. It was established to earn money that is annually distributed to public schools.
Land Board members have a fiduciary responsibility to ensure Idaho’s public school endowment lands are managed for the benefit of both the students enrolled in Idaho public schools today and for future generations of Idaho schoolchildren. However, desperate situations like the financial crisis our schools are facing demand uncommon action. The 275,000 students in Idaho’s public schools deserve a quality education every year, not just two or three years down the road.
When corresponding with Land Board members, let them know:
Idaho’s 275,000 public schoolchildren need them to support the superintendent’s proposal.
The deep cuts being proposed for Idaho schools in the next year have the potential to harm public schools for years to come, if school districts have no option but to cut or eliminate entire programs.
Accepting Luna’s recommendation is much like trying to staunch bleeding with a Band-Aid when a tourniquet is what’s really needed. Still, it would go a long way toward softening the blow of drastic budget cuts.
The Land Board members are Otter (208-334-2100), Luna (208-332-6815), Secretary of State Ben Ysursa (208-334-2300), Attorney General Lawrence Wasden (208-334-2400), and Controller Donna Jones (208-334-3100).
After contacting the Land Board members, please sign the Help Our Kids Petition. Then forward this message to your colleagues and ask them to contact Land Board members and sign the Help Our Kids Petition.
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During his budget presentation to the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee (JFAC) last week, State Superintendent Tom Luna suggested offsetting a significant portion of the revenue shortfall projected for public schools by transferring $52.8 million from the Public ...Schools Earnings Reserve Fund. Only the Land Board can authorize this distribution.
The IEA Board of Directors has voted to support Luna’s proposal and encourages you to contact Land Board members to seek their agreement. The Land Board will make its decision during a special meeting next Thursday, Feb. 10, from 2 to 4 p.m. The Land Board members are Gov. Butch Otter, Secretary of State Ben Ysursa, Attorney General Lawrence Wasden, Controller Donna Jones, and Luna.
Why is this decision so important?
Without these funds, public education will be severely impacted; classroom sizes will increase, courses will be severely cut back and in some places entire programs will be eliminated.
The holdbacks Gov. Otter called for in his State of the State address last month would force public schools to cut approximately $29 million from current year budgets.
His budget proposal for next year would reduce public school funding by a whopping $135 million.
The Governor’s holdback for this year and recommended budget cut for next year amount to a 9.3 percent cut.
To make matters worse, the Joint Legislative Economic Outlook and Revenue Assessment Committee recommended that the Legislature further reduce revenue targets for the current fiscal year by $69 million more than Otter recommended, which could cost public schools another $35 million and push the total reduction for this year to $64 million.
If the revenue committee’s projections are combined with Otter’s recommendations, public schools stand to lose 13 percent.
Over a two-year period (FY 09 to FY 11 next year), public schools will have lost approximately $180 million. That’s $655 per student.
What will happen in your school district if the budget is reduced by 9 percent – or 13 percent? Share that information with Land Board members and ask them to transfer money from the Public Schools Earnings Reserve Fund to public schools.
After you email the Land Board members, you can also sign a petition and encourage your friends and family to do the same.
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Members of the House Education Committee will meet tomorrow and begin voting on a number of State Board of Education and State Department of Education rules. You may recall that earlier this session we reported that each year after legislators pass new laws and head h...ome, state agencies take up the task of developing rules to implement these new laws.
Lawmakers must now either approve or reject these newly established rules.
The IEA has carefully followed the rulemaking process since the previous session.
We have no major objections to any of the proposed rules. However, in previous correspondence with legislative leadership, we stated that due to state and local school district financial constraints we would support the delay in implementation of any new programs or services -- including the teacher supervision and evaluation requirements -- delaying the 2013 increased graduation requirements for math and science credits and a senior project, extending the date for math teachers and administrators to be certified, and delaying the middle school credit rules.
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Bill Uglicoyote Davis “Tactics mean doing what you can with what you have”~ Saul Alinsky So what do we have and what can we do with it. We have our skill as teachers. We can withhold it.
New story from IEA Hotline
In his budget request to the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee (JFAC) today, State Superintendent Tom Luna recommended several approaches to make up an anticipated $135 million hole in public school funding for next year.
First, he suggested tapping three funds... to stave off $58.3 million in reductions. Under his proposal, the state would take:
$52.8 million from the public school earnings reserve fund of the state endowment
$ 3.3 million from the State Department of Education’s driver training account
$ 2.2 million from the Safe and Drug-Free Schools account
Each of these recommendations will require affirmative action. The State Land Board must approve any transfer of funds from the reserve account to public schools. Luna said he will seek the board’s approval for that move during its meeting in mid-February. The other two proposals will require statutory changes.
Next, he proposed reducing next year’s public school appropriation by $25.2 million in six specific areas.
He recommends cutting:
$6.1 million from freezing experience movement on the teacher salary grid for a second year
$2 million from eliminating the early retirement incentive program
$1.4 million from cutting funding for field trips transportation
$1.6 million from reducing classroom supplies funding from $300 per teacher to $200
$5 million from eliminating the 99 percent average daily attendance protection for school districts
$9.1 million from technology and textbooks, giving school districts the flexibility to spend remaining funds on either
Finally, he told legislators that any additional shortfall should be covered by an across-the-board reduction of 3.74% (or $51 million) in a host of other areas including state-paid salaries and benefits, transportation, the Idaho Digital Learning Academy, the Idaho Reading Initiative, gifted and talented education, Limited English Proficiency, district discretionary funds, and more.
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Monday, Jan 18: On Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, the House and Senate Education Committees began the annual process of reviewing the rules developed to implement the laws passed by the 2009 Legislature. Unlike bills that must pass both branches of the Legislature, rule...s go into effect unless both the House and Senate reject them. The IEA has no objections to the rules being reviewed this year but has suggested to legislators that they not enact any measures that have a financial impact.
Tuesday, Jan. 19: Sen. Dean Cameron (R-Rupert), co-chair of the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee (JFAC) predicted that "in all likelihood" the state will have to impose yet another holdback, beyond the 1.6 percent additional mid-year budget cut already proposed by Gov. Butch Otter. "That was based on numbers as of Nov. 30th. We already know that December's numbers have come in and they're well below what the governor projected. That speaks to an additional holdback beyond the 1.6."
Wednesday, Jan. 20: Just when we thought it couldn't get any worse, we learned that it probably will. The Joint Legislative Economic Outlook and Revenue Assessment Committee, whose job is to recommend to the Legislature the revenue levels on which to base the state budget, set projects substantially lower than those Gov. Otter suggested. The committee recommended that the Legislature further reduce revenue projections for the current fiscal year by $69 million more than the governor and $59 million lower than Otter's recommendation for next year. If the committee's forecast form the basis for next year's budgets, public schools will have lost approximately $145 million over a two year period (FY 09 through FY 11 next year). That's $527 per student.
Thursday, Jan. 21: In a presentation before the Senate Education Committee, IEA Executive Director Robin Nettinga urged lawmakers to consider numerous options – not just cutting budgets – for funding public schools. IEA's suggestions include: Enhance revenue; utilize the rest of the Public Education Stabilization Fund; tap the other "rainy day" funds; continue the suspension of the local match for student-occupied buildings; cease approval of any more charter schools; delay new programs or services; encourage swift Congressional action on the jobs bill awaiting action in the Senate. Nettinga reminded lawmakers that funding public education is an economic investment that pays dividends.
Friday, Jan. 22: Typically, in the early weeks of the session, the House and Senate Education Committees don’t meet on Fridays. History repeated itself today. We expect this to change in the coming weeks as legislation is introduced.
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JFAC Co-Chair Dean Cameron, R-Rupert, says “in all likelihood” the state will have to impose yet another holdback, beyond the 1.6 percent additional mid-year budget cut already proposed by Gov. Butch Otter. “That was based on numbers as of Nov. 30th. We already know t...hat December’s numbers have come in and they’re well below what the governor projected. That speaks to an additional holdback beyond the 1.6.”
Later this week, the IEA and other education stakeholders have been asked to discuss our views on the education budget with members of the Senate Education Committee. We will be sharing our concerns about the current fiscal year and offering our thoughts about funding for next fiscal year.
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Need Classes for Credit?
NEED CLASSES TO ADVANCE ON THE SALARY SCHEDULE OR FOR RECERTIFICATION? See www.idahoeducationacademy.com IEA, in partnership with NNU and Educational Consulting Service, is offering proven and popular correspondence and on-line courses for teache...rs this winter term. Save gasoline, time, and money...
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See MoreNEED CLASSES TO ADVANCE ON THE SALARY SCHEDULE OR FOR RECERTIFICATION? See www.idahoeducationacademy.com IEA, in partnership with NNU and Educational Consulting Service, is offering proven and popular correspondence and on-line courses for teache...rs this winter term. Save gasoline, time, and money...
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Idaho Education Association
Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Program
The Academy for Educational Development (AED) has unveiled the application for the 2010-2011 cycle of the Distinguished Fulbright Awards in Teaching program. This Fulbright program is sponsored by The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) at the U.S. Departme...nt of State, and it is administered by AED in coordination with ECA in Washington, DC.
The Distinguished Fulbright Awards in Teaching program seeks to attract highly qualified and experienced K-12 teachers from the United States and eight other participating countries. The main focus of the program is to provide an opportunity for teachers to conduct a variety of professional development activities during a three to six month period.
You can get more information and access to the online application at the following link.
www.fulbrightteacherexchange.org
Fulbright Teacher Exchange Program
Idaho Education Association 's feed: IEA Latest News
Idaho to Apply for Race to the Top Grant
Race to the Top is a highly competitive federal grant to encourage and reward states for improving student achievement and ensuring students are prepared for college and careers.
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Race to the Top is a highly competitive federal grant to encourage and reward states for improving student achievement and ensuring students are prepared for college and careers.
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