Schools face spending deadline

BOISE (AP) - School districts are facing a deadline to submit plans for spending $13 million Idaho set aside for technology upgrades in classrooms under a plan that was crafted by public schools chief Tom Luna and signed into law last year.

A portion of the money, about $4 million, has already been distributed to public schools, according to the state Department of Education. Districts have until Friday to submit plans on how they'll spend the remaining $9 million.

The money was set aside during the 2011 Idaho Legislature to help schools pay for things such as Internet access, technology hardware and training.

Luna's changes will eventually phase in laptops for every high school teacher and student while making online courses a graduation requirement.

Some school superintendents in southeastern Idaho say they're concerned they don't have enough staffing or funding to carry out the changes under the new laws, including training teachers on how to integrate the technology into the classroom.

Administrators have already cut back on staffing and class offerings to help balance budgets amid the economic downturn, said District 25 Superintendent Mary Vagner, who oversees schools in Pocatello and Chubbuck.

The training requirement places an additional burden on districts, Vagner told the Blackfoot Journal (http://bit.ly/x3P3GS ).

A statewide task force last month approved dozens of recommendations for how Idaho should implement education changes, including the plan to provide teachers professional development along with the technology upgrades.

"The recommendations clearly have a price tag that goes with them," Vagner said. "Success is tied to funding."

Luna's office counters that districts are being provided with funding for teacher training. A portion of the $13 million in funding set aside for the current school year - about $3 million - was dedicated to professional development, said state Department of Education spokeswoman Melissa McGrath.

"The state has provided funding for staff training and the districts will not have to pay for that," McGrath said.

The agency is working on the plan to offer teachers professional development as part of Luna's Students Come First changes.

"So until that plan is in place, they'll still get money for professional development in the current year," McGrath said.

The new education mandates backed by Luna and the governor were the source of fierce debate in the 2011 session. In addition to the classroom technology, they include provisions to limit teacher collective bargaining to salaries and benefits; dump seniority as a factor in layoffs; and require union negotiations to be held in public while introducing teacher merit pay and shifting money from salaries to help pay for the changes.

The changes are being carried out even as critics behind a referendum campaign seeking to overturn the laws gear up for a November 2012 vote on the measures.