School boards agree to sunsets on teacher bills

BOISE - After a bold start the 2013 Legislature, the Idaho School Board Association, the group spearheading legislation to give districts more leverage in teacher contract talks, is now opting for a softer approach with its highly prized legislative priorities.

Despite criticism from the state teacher's union for bringing back ideas rejected by voters last fall, the school board group has consistently made its case the last two months for more flexibility and muscle during annual contract negotiations with teachers.

This week, as the association prepares to make another push through the House and Senate, top officials now say they are willing to limit the political shelf-life of four of its most controversial proposals.

Two measures revised to include one-year sunset clauses were introduced in the House Education Committee on Tuesday, one dealing with rules for laying off teachers and the other giving school boards authority to impose a "last, best offer" if contract talks stall.

On Monday, two other revised bills, each with one-year expiration dates, re-emerged in the Senate Education Committee. One bill gives school boards permission to reduce teacher salaries, while the other covers details in negotiating the master teacher contracts.

Idaho School Board Association Executive Director Karen Echeverria said the sunset provisions give her group and the Idaho Education Association a fixed timeframe to study the effectiveness of the proposed changes and the opportunity to cooperate on long-term changes for 2014.

"(Teacher) negotiations will be done pretty soon, so the intent was to try and collect the data this spring when negotiations were going on and report back to the legislature next January," Echeverria told The Associated Press.

The revisions mark a significant concession for the school board association, which set out earlier this year to resurrect ideas that were components of the 2011 Students Come First overhaul but overwhelmingly repealed by voters last fall.

Despite drawing flak from the teachers group and others for pushing ideas rejected at the ballot box, Echeverria has defended the proposals, saying they would provide districts operating on shoestring budgets - or in some cases with deficits - more flexibility and precision to manage and balance finances.

Robin Nettinga, executive director of the education association, said the teachers union will now support the measure giving school districts more power to layoff teachers. But she said the union remains opposed on principle to the "last best offer" proposal.

House OKs charter school funding bill

BOISE (AP) - Idaho charter schools scored a victory Tuesday when the House approved legislation to give the nontraditional schools an additional shot of general fund revenue to help cover building and maintenance costs.

The House capped more than an hour of debate by voting 42-27 to support a bill that would send up to $1.4 million next year to the 40 nontraditional schools operating across the state.

That amount, which comes off the top of the general fund allocation to state public schools, could increase to $2.1 million in the second year and even more in subsequent years, according to the bill. It now goes to the Senate.

In some ways, the vote was historic, marking the first time a legislative body has agreed to use general fund revenue for charter school facilities costs.

Proponents say the funding is needed for charter schools to survive and helps level the financial playing field with traditional schools. Under Idaho statute, charter schools get a share of tax dollars to help with general operating budgets based on student enrollment.

But unlike traditional schools, charters don't have the authority to ask local voters to approve bond levies to offset other expenses, build new schools or pay for remodels - an option used often by public schools in districts big and small.

Rep. Reed DeMordaunt, R-Eagle, said charters have been hit hard by state funding cuts since 2009 because they can't fall back on bond levies for additional revenue. This bill gives alternative schools a helping hand, he said.

"Over the years these folks have taken a dramatic hit, and in spite of that, they have continued to outperform their traditional school cousins," said DeMordaunt, the chairman of the House Education Committee.

All House Democrats voted against the bill, and were joined by some Republicans who criticized sending money to charters when traditional schools are in just as much need.

"I think this is a situation where the enthusiasm for an idea has exceeded or gotten ahead of the sound management of public funds and the needs of the vast, vast majority of the students who sit in traditional classrooms," said Rep. Grant Burgoyne, D-Boise.

Rep. Lenore Barrett, R-Challis, acknowledged the good intentions of the measure, but she said it's the wrong time for lawmakers to approve of new ways to spend money.

"This is a spending bill no matter how 'bleedy' you are in the heart," Barrett said. "We are still in a recession. We still have people out of work and the taxpayers are still picking up the tab."