Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter signed the $1.37 billion public schools budget for next year into law Monday. The 2008 fiscal year budget is a 6 percent increase over last year's allocation.
"This is a great day for education in Idaho," said Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Luna in a press release. "We received 99.6 percent of what we requested. This budget is proof of what we can accomplish when we all work together."
One of the biggest changes in the budget is how the money will find its way from the state to the classroom.
"The intent of the Legislature was to flow the money from the state directly down to the individual teachers," said Mike Chatterton, business manager for the Blaine County School District and president of the Idaho Association of School Business Officials.
According to its Web site, the Idaho Association of School Business officials is "a nonprofit organization of school employees who have responsibilities to manage the business affairs of public and private schools in Idaho."
In many ways, "the state is trying to take that decision away from the district," Chatterton said. However, he said, the shift could pose problems because it is difficult for officials in Boise to fully understand the intricacies and needs of individual schools throughout the state. "We (the Idaho Association of Business Officials) offered to assist the department in this process a couple weeks ago, but we haven't heard back from them yet."
The keystone of the new budget is the $20 million Classroom Enhancement Package. The package targets three main areas of education: classroom supplies, textbooks, and remediation programs.
Currently classroom supplies are forced to compete with salaries, utilities and employee health benefits for a slice of the discretionary funding budget. The new budget specifically earmarks $5.18 million in funds for classroom supplies. The allocation of funds will provide 14,800 teachers with $350 each for classroom supplies. The move seeks to alleviate the financial burden teachers' face when they have to purchase classroom essentials out of their own pocket. Four years ago teachers received $100 for classroom expenses, Chatterton said.
According to the Education Department, teachers and parents throughout the state are concerned about the use of worn-our or out-dated textbooks. In fiscal year 2008, the state will set aside $9.95 million in funding specifically for the purchase of textbooks. This means the state will pay $3 for every $1 schools put into textbooks. The budget states that school districts will be allowed to purchase "electronic textbooks" if they so choose.
The third pillar of the new budget seeks to allocate additional funds for remediation programs for students who struggle academically. In the past, schools were forced to choose between paying for additional technology or remediation programs because the funds were tied together. The new budget sets aside $5 million for remediation. According to the Education Department, this is enough money to help roughly 20,000 students who score below proficiency on the Idaho Standard Achievement Test two years in a row. This works out to the state paying $2 for every $1 individual schools put into remediation. The new budget provides an additional $9.8 million for technological improvements.
Teacher salary is also addressed in the new law with a 3 percent increase in the base salary for teachers, administrators and classified staff. The minimum teacher salary was also raised from $30,000 to $31,000.
It is important to note the new base is "kind of an artificial bottom to the salary schedule," Chatterton said. According to the state salary schedule, teachers could be stuck at $31,000 for the first five years. "It's a way for the state to say we raised the salaries to $31,000—but it frozen after that.
"Blaine County teachers already begin at $35,000," Chatterton said. Following that, teachers will receive a 3 percent increase each year and could earn up to 6 percent thereafter.
The difference lies in the high cost of living in the valley.
"We can't attract teachers for $31,000," Chatterton said.
BUTCH OTTER
