Reform? Bring it on

The transition won't be seamless, and it probably won't be painless, either.

But thank goodness, the state of Idaho isn't standing still while public education withers.

Gov. Butch Otter and Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Luna could have taken the path of least resistance. They could have made their apologies for the state wallowing in continued fiscal doldrums and cut, cut, cut. They could have let union leaders reign over a general sense of apathy and perpetuate a same ol', same ol' approach to educating our children.

Instead, Otter and Luna have broken the mold and started over.

If their plan and its accompanying budget are approved this legislative session, public education in Idaho will be forever changed. That's good news because, even if you believe the current model works, it is not sustainable.

In the past two years, public school funding has lost $200 million. Schools have responded by increasing levies, furloughing employee days, foregoing textbook purchases and eliminating jobs, programs and services for students. Even if the budget grew by 4 percent a year, it would take 10 years just to get back to where we were. Now is the right time to start over.

While change this dramatic will take time to absorb, fine tune and implement, we're excited about the possibilities. Good, experienced teachers will not just retain job security but be rewarded based on student performance, and the very best teachers will be able to increase their compensation well beyond the ceilings now firmly in place. We believe this reform will not only make Idaho schools a better place to work, but will attract some of the best and brightest teachers from around the country.

Of course, the teachers' union immediately took issue with some of the proposal's recommendations, but we applaud Luna for refraining from teacher-bashing. He very specifically noted that it is a handful of union bosses who slam the door on the slightest hint of change, and Luna consistently lauds the overall quality of education statewide. After four years on the job, he understands that it is not only possible to do more with limited resources, but imperative.

One of the biggest changes involves transparency. Collective bargaining sessions between school boards and teachers unions would have to be done during open meetings, with parents, teachers and anyone else welcome to observe. Once agreements have been reached, the schools would be required to publish them, in detail, online. The state would then publish a fiscal report card for every district showing per-pupil spending, how much of a district's budget is going into the classroom, how much is spent on administration and how each district compares to other districts in the state.

No wonder union bosses shudder.

This is not business as usual, and Idaho will be the better for it.