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BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A state task force says reforming Idaho's teaching certification must be tied to increasing salaries in order to attract and retain quality teachers in public schools.
The 18-member committee spent most of Monday discussing details of implementing a new teacher pay system commonly known as the career ladder.
However, some members expressed concerns that state lawmakers will approve tougher certification requirements without providing funding for higher salaries.
"One of the fears is that the two will start out together and then lawmakers will stop giving the additional money," said committee member and state Sen. Janie Ward-Engelking, a Democrat from Boise. "We've seen that happen in the past. It's hard to know what future legislatures will do."
Ward-Engelkind said Idaho lawmakers passed career ladder legislation in the 1990s but failed to provide the additional funding. The legislature eventually voted to remove the ladder system out of state code several years later.
State schools superintendent Tom Luna responded that the two ideas were always expected to go hand in hand while they were being implemented.
A new pay system and a new tiered-certification system are part of the 20 recommendations from the governor's Task Force for Improving Education, which were released last year. The recommendations have been widely accepted by Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter, state lawmakers and educators as the model to improve Idaho's dismal educational rankings, however, details about how to fund each recommendation are still being finalized.
On Monday, the committee was presented with a seven year transition plan that would jump beginning teacher salaries from $31,750 to $40,000. Salaries would then go up to $50,000 or $60,000 depending on which certificate teachers possess under the new tiered licensure system.
The proposed model would require a nearly $15 million boost to the state's education budget to cover the increased costs of higher salaries the first year. It would then require varying increase from anywhere from $25 million to $36 million for the next six years to meet the career ladder benchmarks.
Committee member and state GOP Sen. Dean Mortimer of Idaho Falls said he would like the group to consider recommending a five year transition.
"My concern is that seven years is a long time," said Mortimer, who is likely to become chairman of the Senate Education Committee come January. "How much difference did it make doing it in six years...can we do it in less and do we want to do it in less, in my opinion, it's yes."
After going back and forth crunching different scenarios, the committee abstained from voting on a final recommendation. Instead, they will vote in two weeks to give time to weigh various options.
State lawmakers will review the committee's recommendation when they convene in in Boise in January for the 2015 Legislature.
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