Tag Archives: Tom Luna
JFAC approves K-12 funding boost, online education expands
Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Luna is happy with increase in school funding. Despite Gov. Butch Otter’s call for only a 2 percent increase in K-12 education funding for the next fiscal year, Idaho’s public schools are in store for … Continue reading
AG’s office: Idaho teachers entitled to receive bonus pay
Public school teachers in Idaho who earned merit-based bonuses will be paid their additional income even though the law that allowed for the pay-for-performance compensation was overturned in the Nov. 6 general election. The announcement came from State Superintendent of … Continue reading
Proposition 2: Pros and cons of bonus pay for teacher performance
(Note: This is the second of a three-part series examining what a “yes” or “no” vote means on the state’s three propositions to be decided by voters in the general election Nov. 6. Tuesday featured Proposition 1. Thursday it will … Continue reading
Idaho SAT results: One in four juniors ready for postsecondary education
In 2007, before any of the three education reform bills were approved by the 2011 Idaho Legislature, lawmakers allocated funds for the Department of Education to provide the 2013 graduation class with the SAT test or some other standardized test … Continue reading
Bill to stop Land Board business purchases dead after no motion in Senate panel
Silence. Deafening and bill-killing silence. That’s what backers of a bill to stop the state Land Board from buying and running businesses were treated to after testimony concluded on their measure to end the practice. After two days of testimony … Continue reading
Budget committee plans more money for public schools next year
Idaho’s largest budget item is set for fiscal year 2013. After more tense debate in the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee (JFAC) Monday, the panel set an overall $1.566 billion budget for Idaho’s public education system. That represents a total spending hike … Continue reading
Senate Education Committee endorses plan to stop teacher pay reductions
One of the most controversial planks of Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Luna’s education reform laws is one step closer to being reversed. The Senate Education Committee Monday unanimously approved a bill sponsored by Sen. Dean Cameron, R-Rupert, that would … Continue reading
Cameron pushes bill to end teacher pay reductions in Luna’s reforms
In an unusual meeting Wednesday morning, the Senate Finance Committee approved a bill to end the teacher pay reductions imposed by reforms pushed last year by Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Luna. The bill, brought by Sen. Dean Cameron, R-Rupert, … Continue reading
Luna: Paying teachers is a higher priority than building up reserve funds (video)
Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Luna is asking for a 4.7 percent hike in the public schools budget, including money to fund enrollment growth, more than $30 million in merit pay and $13 million in tech products for classrooms. If … Continue reading