Otter sets agenda for 2015 legislative session
Idaho Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter said during his State of the State address Jan. 12 that improving education in Idaho is the state’s top priority for the 2015 legislative session.
“World-class public schools can set the bar for higher individual achievement,” Otter said. “They are the key to our prosperity and Idaho’s competitiveness in the global marketplace.”
Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter
Otter proposed a 7.4 percent increase in K-12 education funding, a $101 million growth over the current fiscal year. This increase in education expenses would surpass the pre-recession high 2009 budget by about $57 million.
The proposal estimates $3.1 billion apportioned to the general fund for fiscal year 2016, which begins on July 1 of this year and runs to the end of June 2016. Otter said this general fund estimate is about a 5 percent increase in government spending when compared to the current fiscal year.
The proposed increase in budget would be divided among a number of items, including raises in teacher salaries, upping operational funds for schools and apportionments to support classroom technology and the Idaho Education Network inclusive of training for teachers, administrators, superintendents and school board members.
The announcement to prioritize education in Idaho follows an Education Week report released Jan. 8, ranking Idaho 46th in the U.S. for education. Two areas where Idaho was heavily marked down in the report included K-12 funding and access to preschool and kindergarten for the general public.
Superintendent of Public Instruction Sherri Ybarra is slated to present her educational spending budget proposal Jan. 29.
“We are on the same page,” Ybarra said to a reporter after the address. “It was very promising to hear the governor’s budget.”
Following Ybarra’s recommendation, the responsibility to create a budget for the fiscal year of 2016 is left to the Joint Finances and Appropriations Committee, which will then go to the House and Senate for approval.
Outside of the classroom
Taxes, bridges, grouses and gay marriage are also on Otter’s agenda.
Otter recommended cutting income tax on businesses and residents in the state’s top income bracket from 7.4 percent to 6.9 percent over the next five years.
According to Otter, Idaho has 785 deficient bridges and he places maintenance of these bridges right behind education. He estimated this number will increase to almost 900 by 2019 if not addressed.
Otter recommended the state spend $750,000 to conserve sage grouse habitat in Idaho and prevent the species from being listed under the federal Endangered Species Act.
Otter stated his conviction to continue defending Idaho’s same-sex marriage ban by filing appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the decision made by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals last fall.
Increasing salary
Otter proposed a nearly $32 million increase in the education budget to raise teacher’s salaries and said it falls in line with the 5-year plan recommended to him last year by the State Board of Education to pay teachers along a career ladder system.
The career ladder, recommended to Otter and Idaho legislators by SBOE Sep. 28, seeks to replace the current model of paying teachers across the state. At this time, school districts are apportioned funds to pay salaries based on years of service and education attainment, but the career ladder will determine a teacher’s salary based on specific performance criteria and a three-tiered licensure.
If the career ladder system were implemented as proposed, educators on the first rung of the ladder would receive a minimum of $40,000 a year after the 5-year plan’s completion. At the top of the ladder, educators could receive a minimum salary of $54,000 to $58,000.
Regardless, districts would still be free to negotiate raises in salary for educators, though any salary would have to abide by the career ladder minimums.
Supporting education
Alongside investing in educator salaries, Otter proposed supporting Idaho education with other budget apportionments.
In Otter’s proposed budget to the legislature, he recommended increasing school’s operational funding by $20 million. Operational costs for schools include buying books and paying for utilities, repairs and insurance costs.
Otter’s proposed allocation for classroom technology is $11 million. $9 million would be given to districts for purchasing technology and $2 million would be used to train teachers to use some technologies.
Otter more than doubled the appropriation for teacher’s professional development training for fiscal year 2016. In his proposal, he supported investing nearly $18 million in ongoing funding for development, a stark contrast to last year’s apportionment of around $8 million.
Otter also supported setting aside $2.5 million on college and career counseling for students and $752,000 on leadership training for education administrators, superintendents and school board members.
George Wood Jr. can be reached at [email protected]