Laptops vs. 'role models'

COEUR d'ALENE - Eighteen-year-old Rebekah Gann, a student at Lake City High School, stepped to the podium and told the audience what was on her mind.

"Computers cannot replace good teachers," she said. "I have many teachers that I look up to, and I would not have that with computers. Teachers are role models. They make us think. And with computers, you don't really have that."

On Saturday afternoon, Gann attended a crowded town hall meeting at the Coeur d'Alene Public Library. A number of teachers, administrators and students discussed Superintendent Tom Luna's wide-ranging plan for public education reform.

If passed by the state legislature, the plan would require students to take six online credits in order to graduate, give all ninth-graders laptop computers and decrease the number of teachers in Idaho classrooms.

The meeting was promoted by the Idaho Education Association, and almost everyone in attendance strongly opposed Luna's legislation.

"No one has had the time to really assess everything in the proposal," said Andrea Partington, a teacher at Lake City High School. "It deserves the careful, thoughtful consideration of all the stakeholders."

Two proposed bills are currently moving through the legislative process in Boise. They carry Luna's plan, which is called Students Come First. According to the Department of Education, the state's current education system is not financially sustainable.

A panel of five educators addressed the meeting on Saturday: Tim Sandford, a music teacher at Lake City High School; Marty Meyer, a custodian at Fernan Elementary; Coeur d'Alene High School counselor Rick Jones; Jim Windisch, who teaches fifth grade at Bryan Elementary; and Kristi Milan, history teacher and president of the Coeur d'Alene Education Association (the local teachers' union).

Windisch said he has 31 students in his class at Bryan, and the average class size for an elementary school in Idaho is nearly 24 students. The superintendent's plan, however, calls for an increase in class sizes throughout the state.

The increase will put additional pressure on teachers, Windisch said, many of whom already have very full classrooms.

Jones expressed concern over the required online classes.

"(Under Luna's plan), every student in the district must take some kind of online course," Jones said. "There's no guarantee that the student who earns the grade in the class is the one who's taking the course."

In addition, he said he had been told that some colleges do not accept online course credits.

"There's a difference between earning a diploma and getting an education," Jones said. "There are certainly benefits to be had from online instruction, but compelling students to do it is not in their best interest."

One pillar of the new education plan is called "Great Teachers and Leaders," according to the Department of Education. That element includes merit pay for teachers and two-year rolling contracts.

According to several educators at the town hall meeting, proponents of the plan have accused teachers' unions of protecting teachers who underperform. But Mary Ruch, a longtime teacher at Woodland Middle School, argued otherwise.

"My union does not protect bad teachers. We have continuing contracts. I could be fired at any time," Ruch said. "What I have is due process - so if I'm a bad teacher, or I'm not doing my job, it is the administration that needs to come and work with me. My union is not protecting bad teachers. My administration is not dealing with bad teachers. I'm angry, and I'm tired of taking a bad rap."

Throughout the meeting, the Students Come First plan was sharply criticized. Luna and Sen. John Goedde, who chairs the Senate Education Committee, were not invited to the meeting.

"I thought Tom Luna was coming, so I came down to hear what the program is," said Vickie Anderson, of Coeur d'Alene. "It was all one-sided."

Another community meeting will take place Monday at 6 p.m. at the Red Lion Templin's Resort in Post Falls. The meeting will be hosted by the teachers of Post Falls.

Luna's education plan will again be the topic of discussion.

Staff writer Maureen Dolan contributed to this story.