Department spokesman Melissa McGrath said the meeting could cost $11,300 or more.  The bulk of that cost will go toward funding travel of task force members outside the Boise area, but some will fund per diem payments for meals.

The state will not be paying, however, for two high-profile education reform gurus to come to the meetings and testify on the plan.  Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and former West Virginia Gov. Bob Wise are slated tomeet with the task force on June 14.  McGrath confirmed that there are no speaking fees for the duo and that they will be paying for their own travel and accommodations.

The agency projects that $3,700 will be spent on hotels, $3,300 will go toward mileage reimbursement, and $2,700 will pay for flights into Boise.  Another $1,600 will pay for the $30 per day payment for task force member meals.  Finals costs will vary, McGrath warned.

The department has instructed task force members to travel by the cheapest manner in accordance with state travel policy.  About 15 of the panel members live outside the Boise metro area.

The spending represents just a sliver of the budget from which it comes.  McGrath said the task force meeting will be funded from the technology portion of the public schools budget, an amount totaling $13.1 million.

The task force is slated to determine how the state will handle technology upgrades for classrooms – and students – in upcoming years.  The panel, created through the three education reform bills pushed through the Legislature earlier this year, includes both backers and foes of the plan.

One task force member, Rep. Wendy Jaquet, D-Ketchum, who voted against all the education reform measures, said that the cost is necessary for open hearings on how technology should be implemented in Gem State classrooms.  “Well, I think he has to have this process now because he didn’t do it up front,” Jaquet wrote in an e-mail to IdahoRepoter.com.

The committee could have used technology – web meetings – to conduct business, but Jaquet says that she wouldn’t favor that.  “(It’s) hard to do web based work when committee hasn’t done some face-to- face,” the Ketchum Democrat wrote.

It is unclear how often the task force will meet before its report is due to the Legislature in January.  McGrath and Jaquet confirmed Wednesday that subcommittees will be formed to handle some issues, will not be formed regionally, but will rather center on various topics of reform.

The task force, which starts meeting June 13, must report to state lawmakers next year on how to implement the technology changes that are part of the new education laws backed by Luna. Those components include how to distribute laptops or similar devices to high school students and guidelines for online classes that high school students may be required to take.

“Through this task force, we have pulled together individuals from education, technology, and the business community to work together in making this implementation successful for every child,” Luna said in a news release.

Luna appointed 27 of the 38 task force members. Among the task force group are four teachers, four principals, five superintendents, four school board members. Six lawmakers are on the task force, including one Democrat, Ketchum Rep. Wendy Jaquet, who was appointed by Luna. House and Senate leaders appointed four members, all Republicans.

Not all of Luna’s picks to the task force backed his reform package earlier this year. Jaquet voted against the legislation and Challis Superintendent Colby Gull opposed the plan during a public hearing in January. At least seven of Luna’s appointees supported the reforms, either in legislative hearings or media reports.

“When people applied, they did not necessarily say how they felt about the legislation,” Melissa McGrath, Luna’s spokeswoman, said. McGrath said several staff members in the education department reviewed the 96 applications, but Luna made the final decision. She also said that selections weren’t made based on support for the legislation, but rather on the applicants’ background and what they could bring to the task force, as well their location in Idaho.

The reject pile for the task force included several critics of the plan, including Boise School Board head A.J. Balukoff, former Boise lawmaker Branden Durst, and teacher Christina Hartman.

Several of Luna’s supporters also didn’t make the cut to be on the task force, including Briana LeClaire with the Idaho Freedom Foundation and Cody Claver, who works for the online education company K12 that contributed thousands to Luna’s re-election campaign.

The legislation creating the task force allowed others besides Luna to appoint task force members. The most prominent critic on the board is Idaho Education Association President Sherri Wood, who was not available for comment.

Luna’s office has said it is continuing to implement the reforms. Opponents to the new laws have gathered enough signatures to force a referendum on the reforms, which voters will decide on next November.

Read the full list of task force members at Luna’s blog. The list of applicants who weren’t accepted is available here. Luna’s office also released an updated website for his education reforms.

Note: IdahoReporter.com is published by the Idaho Freedom Foundation.

House Speaker Lawerence Denney, R-Midvale, is one of those who is proud lawmakers showed fiscal restraint and opted to cut programs instead of raising taxes. “I think the most significant thing is that we balanced the budget,” said the speaker.  “I think a lot of people don’t understand how important that is.”

But Senate Democrats characterized this session as one of the worst in recent memory. Denney says session enjoyment comes down to ideology.  “If you want to increase taxes and increase spending it was a terrible session,” said Denney.  “Everybody that depends on government will feel some pain, but in the long run, I think we did what is right for Idaho.”

House Majority Leader Mike Moyle, R-Star, is another legislator happy to give the citizens a balanced budget without tax hikes.  “While not everybody’s happy, I think we got the best results we could with the cards we were dealt,” said Moyle.

Rep. Janice McGeachin, R-Idaho Falls, was one of the major players of the legislative changes, pushing through legislation to cut $35 million from the state’s Medicaid funding, one of the key measure to ensure a balanced budget for the Gem State.

But even she, as the originator of that crucial bill, says that 2011 was about fiscal restraint, as she says was demanded by Idaho voters. “I think the Republicans that were re-elected in the last election, most all us of ran on the ticket – when the economy tanked – that we were committed to cutting spending rather than raising taxes,” said McGeachin. “The outcome of that election was a pretty big affirmation of that.”

Not all House members were thrilled with some of the choices made, however.  Rep. Grant Burgoyne, D-Boise, told IdahoReporter.com that the Legislature as a whole didn’t listen to the will of the people in considering legislation. “You can’t really lead effectively if you are not listening,” Burgoyne warned.  “To lead effectively, you really have to listen to a lot of folks. Our problems are so difficult in the state … that none of us alone are going to have all the answers.”

He says that he concerned that the Legislature isn’t representing the interests of the state, but instead being lead around by a few powerful leaders with agendas already set.

The Boise Democrat, who voted against all three of Luna’s reform bills, says the package will be the legacy of the 2011 legislative session and that only time will tell if lawmakers made the right choices in that area.   “Whether it turns out to be a good legacy, or an underperforming legacy, or a bad legacy, the jury is out on that,” he mused.  “We don’t know what’s going to happen.”

Rep. Dennis Lake, R-Black, agrees that legislators will be remembered by their votes on Luna’s bills. “I think the biggest thing is that we’ve given citizens education reform,” said Lake.  “It’s controversial, and we know it is, but it sets us on a new track.”

But even Lake – who voted for all three proposals on the House floor – will be keeping a close eye on what comes now that reforms have passed into law.  “I think it all depends on how it’s implemented,” he said.

Rep. Wendy Jaquet, D-Ketchum, said 2011 was a “tough session,” but feels, even though she was on the losing side of some of the biggest votes this year, that she represented her district well.  “I think I have given my constituents a strong voice for their views,” said Jaquet. “I was on the losing side on most votes, but stayed true to my core values and the values of my constituents.”

The measure is dead for the year, however, because the Idaho Senate adjourned for the year without taking up the issue.

Idaho restricts creation of charter schools to six per year.  Figures provided by the Idaho Department of Education show the waiting list for student entry into charter schools continues to rise. In 2008, some 6,981 students awaited entry into charter schools, a number that increased to 7,500 in May of 2009.  The latest figure, from May of last year, shows 9,304 Gem State students waiting to be admitted to charter schools.

The measure passed the House 40-28 and now heads to the Senate.

Representatives killed the first version of the bill Wednesday when lobbyists in support of the measure handed out gifts – yellow scarves with the words “National School Choice Week” embroidered on them – on the floor of the House.  House Minority Leader John Rusche, D-Lewiston, objected to the gifts, contending that they violated ethics rules. A majority of the legislators agreed and voted to hold the measure.

The new bill was introduced in the House Ways and Means Committee less than an hour before it came to the floor.  House Majority Leader Mike Moyle, R-Eagle, said the bill needed time to make it to the Senate, so the measure was fast-tracked through the process.

Opponents of the measure said the measure would take money from the public education system and give them to the specialized schools.  Rep. Wendy Jaquet, D-Ketchum, said it is unfair that many school districts are being urged to consolidate while the state expands charter schools.

Rep. JoAn Wood, R-Rigby, told colleagues that charter schools help parents develop unique talents in their children by sending them to the specialized schools.

There was a bill to remove the cap in the Idaho Senate last year, but the measure was never given final approval by senators.  The legislation was proposed only as a part of Idaho’s effort to obtain federal education money from President Barack Obama’s Race to the Top education reform initiative.

The measure, House Bill 343, passed 64-5.  The measure will be heard by a Senate committee Wednesday afternoon.  The bill is co-sponsored by 59 Republican lawmakers in the Legislature.

If the measure clears the Senate and is signed by the governor, it may permit the Idaho Office of Species Conservation to work to prevent danger caused by wolves.  The orders may even allow killing of the animals if necessary.  The measure outlines an emergency as a point in time in which the state has more than 100 gray wolves. Estimates project there are now 705 gray wolves in Idaho.

The presenter of the bill, Rep. Judy Boyle, R-Midvale, said the state has been “more than patient” in dealing with the animals since they were introduced in the state in 1995.

House Speaker Lawerence Denny, R-Midvale, who allowed Majority Leader Mike Moyle to run debate on the issue, said that wolves are massacring elk herds through the state.  “I don’t think we have the time to wait patiently while our wildlife is being eaten alive,” said Denney.  “Folks, there is an emergency.”

Rep. Lenore Hardy Barrett, R-Challis, said that Idaho should have the right to manage the animals within its borders.  “This is a state sovereignty issue,” she exclaimed.  “I will be in tears if you do not pass this bill and I may not go home.”

Rep. Dick Harwood, R-St. Maries, told colleagues that wolves have terrorized families in north Idaho.  “This is changing the culture of Idaho … because of the fear,” said Harwood.

Rep. Wendy Jaquet, D-Ketchum, objected to the bill, saying that it should have received a formal committee hearing.  The bill was introduced Friday with no public testimony.

Wolves are protected as an endangered species, though there is a deal in the works to delist them.  The deal, a compromise between several stakeholder groups, needs the approval of U.S. District  Judge Donald Malloy.

Note: The Idaho Freedom Foundation, which publishes IdahoReporter.com, helped craft the legislation. Photo courtesy of echiax.

The measure, sponsored by Rep. Marv Hagedorn, R-Meridian, is the result of several months of work with stakeholder groups, including insurance companies, the Idaho Sheriff’s Association, and prosecutors across the state.

Members of the House voted 21-48 to kill the measure due to concerns that language might not be concise enough to prevent texting behind thewheel.

The bill would have prevented drivers from using cell phones to send text messages, update Facebook or Twitter, or do anything else that would prevent them from exercising “due care” behind the wheel.  Officers would have been able to stop someone they suspect of texting while driving and issue a $75 fine if they believe the law had been violated.

The measure said that if distracted driving caused by use a hand-held mobile device contributed to an accident, the penalty would have been hiked to up to $300 and 90 days in jail.

It could have been possible, however, that drivers could still text or use mobile devices behind the wheel, as long as they were not exercising unsafe driving habits.

The measure wouldn’t have been exclusive to cell phones.  It’s possible that a driver could have been cited for using an electronic toothbrush if there has been distracted driving.  “It’s not about the device, it’s about the change in the behavior of the driver,” said Hagedorn. “Texting never killed anybody.  Their behavior killed somebody. Distracted driving kills people.”

Rep. Wendy Jaquet, D-Ketchum, said that the language of the bill might not be adequate.  “It’s not comprehensive enough yet,” she said of the plan.  “I don’t think this bill does enough.”

Idaho has two laws to prevent bad driving on Idaho roadways – reckless driving and inattentive driving – but those are both misdemeanors and Hagedorn said prosecution of those could be difficult in court.

Rep. Rich Wills, R-Glenns Ferry, a former law enforcement official, says police officers would be capable of finding and stopping distracted drivers.  “What’s happening with the driving pattern?” he asked.  “That’s what the officer would look at.”

Rep. Lynn Luker, R-Boise, said that the focus on texting is too narrow.  “If we wanted a true distraction infraction, then we should just call it that,” argued Luker, who said he would like to see a bill that includes distracted driving caused by hamburgers, makeup, or changing stations on the radio.

Rep. Dell Raybould, R-Rexburg, said that bill is too ambiguous and that anyone talking on a cell phone could be subject to a $75 fine. “I’m totally opposed to texting while driving, but that isn’t what the bill says,” said Raybould, who argued that those talking on cell phones are less distracted than those who are texting.  “Because of the ambiguity in this, I’ve going to have to vote ‘no’ on this.”

This is the third anti-texting bill killed by the House in the past two years.  House members voted down one measure last year because they felt it couldn’t be enforced and another died because lawmakers felt it went too far with penalties.

Representatives voted 42-28 to approve Senate Bill 1167, the appropriation for the Idaho State Board of Education, the entity which houses the charter school oversight agency.

Rep. Grant Burgoyne, D-Boise, argued against the bill, saying that he cannot support a bill that expands administration while money to actually teach children is being reduced.

The new position will cost the state $117,0o0 in salary and benefits in fiscal year 2012.  The board has a total budget of $4.3 million, including $2.1 million in state general funds.

In an e-mail to IdahoReporter.com earlier this year, the board’s spokesman, Mark Browning, shed some light on why the additional money is needed in a time when all other state departments and agencies are facing cuts.

Browning said that industry standards recommend that there be one full-time employee to provide oversight for about six charter schools.  Idaho, with 1.5 employees for the state’s 30 state-supervised charter schools in existence, is at about a 20-to-1 oversight level.

The issue, said Browning, is a matter of proper oversight and accountability of charter schools that the public expects. “We simply can’t sustain this level and give the public any reasonable expectation of oversight and proper use of their tax monies under this load,” said Browning in the e-mail. “This position is needed, in the board’s opinion, due to the extreme work load that currently exists and is anticipated through the growth of charter schools and school choice in Idaho.”

The Idaho Public Charter School Commission consists of six board members who make administrative rules, along with one full-time employee – Tamara Baysinger – and an administrative assistant, a part-time post.

Baysinger receives $58,000, plus benefits, annually from the state.

The floor sponsor of the appropriation, Rep. Wendy Jaquet, D-Ketchum, said that charter schools must be monitored appropriately.  “I think the staff increase is really necessary,” Jaquet said.

The measure has already passed the Senate and now heads to the governor’s desk for consideration.

“I think school districts will feel a $47 million reduction,” said Sen. Dean Cameron, R-Rupert, one of the leaders of the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee (JFAC), which set the budget for public schools Monday. The actual budget shows a smaller $21 million reduction, but the budget includes $25 million in funding from a federal jobs program that isn’t included in the current budget.

Cameron and other Republicans on JFAC said the funding for schools was better than they’d expected. “I’m not happy about this, but it is the reality of what we’re facing,” Cameron said.

“I have been pleasantly surprised with where we’re at with this budget today,” said Sen. Dean Mortimer, R-Idaho Falls. The four Democrats on JFAC opposed the budget.

The spending reduction for the next school year comes as the state expects more than 3,000 new students to attend public schools in the fall.

“It’s still the third year in a row where schools will receive less money,” said Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Luna. He said school districts had been expecting larger reductions, and that the budget reflects an effort to move away from one-time funding toward more sustainable spending.

Of the $1.5 billion in total state and federal spending for public schools set by JFAC, $1.2 billion comes from state general fund tax dollars. That amounts to close to half of the total $2.5 billion general fund budget.

Luna’s education overhaul affects several portions of the budget. It raises the minimum teacher salary by several hundred dollars to $30,000 while reducing the base salaries for teachers and other school staff by 1.87 percent. Luna’s reform also targets $13 million for technology. That money comes out of discretionary funding that local districts can spend as they wish. Discretionary funding would drop by $27 million overall.

Democratic lawmakers tried to add an additional $10 million to local districts’ discretionary funding, with that money coming from a school buildings repair account, but the effort failed on a 14-6 vote.

“It is appropriate to give [districts] this shot in the arm on discretionary funds, which is still a significant decrease in discretionary funding,” said Rep. Shirley Ringo, D-Moscow. Ringo attempted to tap the building repair fund to add extra money for colleges and universities earlier this year.

Two GOP senators, Joyce Broadsword of Sagle and Mitch Toryanski of Boise, joined Ringo and Democrats in supporting the plan. “I think that our school districts have been handed a number of new unfunded mandates,” said Broadsword, who also voted against Luna’s overhaul.

Toryanski voted several times with Democrats, rejecting spending plans and trying to add more money for public schools. Toryanski said it’s important to get more money for education, and that none of the efforts suggested would increase taxes.

The public schools budget also saves more than $5 million for schools by getting rid of the 99 percent average daily attendance protection that prevents local districts from losing more than 1 percent of state funding if their enrollment drops by a larger percentage. Eliminating that protection is another part of Luna’s legislation.

Cameron said Luna’s plan ties the hands of budget writers, especially on the reductions to teachers’ salaries. Cameron also strongly opposed Luna’s legislation that passed in the Senate on March 24. Another part of the reform plan scraps a $2,000 bonus for master teachers, though it sets up new pay-for-performance bonuses that would go into effect in the fall of 2013.

The state would also set aside $842,400 to pay for high school students in programs that earn college credit. Ringo added a requirement that the state report how many students are in such dual credit programs. Luna was supportive of the plan, though he said it could be an added reporting burden for local districts.

The public schools budget also funds $6 million for the Idaho Digital Learning Academy (IDLA), a $1 million increase, as well as $4.85 million for new high school graduation requirements for math and science. Luna said the IDLA increase is due to increased demand for students for the program that offers online courses.

“Online learning is very popular in Idaho,” Luna said. “It’s only this year that it’s been talked about in a negative way.”

The public schools budget must still be approved by the full Idaho House and Senate.

JFAC also rejected a plan from Rep. Wendy Jaquet, D-Ketchum, to take $10 million from a Division of Veterans Services account to pay for enrollment growth at universities and community colleges. “It seems to me this is one of the best things we can be doing for economic development,” said Jaquet, who also provided a February letter from the veterans division saying they’d support shifting the money back to the state.

Rep. Marv Hagedorn, R-Meridian, opposed shifting the money from veterans services. He said the department may have to repay some of that money to the federal government or use it to cover reductions in Medicaid and Medicare money. Both those potential costs are also mentioned in the letter from veterans division administrator David Brasuell saying the division could weather the cuts.

The money and the exchanges come from the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA).

Three members of the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee (JFAC), Rep. Maxine Bell, R-Jerome, Rep. Fred Wood, R-Burley, and Rep. Marv Hagedorn, R-Meridian, have confirmed that the appropriation will head back to the panel for additional consideration and likely removal of the federal money.

Bell, co-chair of JFAC, said she’ll pull back the agency’s budget Friday.  ”I simply don’t have the votes,” Bell said, adding that she didn’t want a budget bill to be voted down on the House floor.  Bell said she supported spending the federal money on the exchanges.  ”It was putting up a firewall for the state,” she said.

The House sponsor of the bill, Wood, also confirmed that the measure would head back to JFAC Friday.  “There’s not the votes to take the Obamacare money,” said Wood, using a common term for the PPACA. “It’s as simple as that.”

Once the bill is back in JFAC, Wood explained, it will take a two-thirds vote of panel members to re-open the budget, which might prove to be a difficult process.  “That may be problematic, it may not,” said Wood.  “We’ll have to wait and see.” If the budget is successfully re-opened, the federal money will be removed and the measure will be sent back to the House floor.

If the budget cannot be re-opened or the attempt to remove the federal money fails, Wood says there would need to be negotiations between JFAC and other House members to figure out a final solution.  “I think there would be some reasonable people brought in for consultation,” said Wood, who feels that the federal money will not be a part of the agency’s appropriation when the bill comes out of committee.

Hagedorn attempted to gut the appropriation of the federal money during its original hearing in JFAC, a move that failed.  The appropriation faced a fight on the Senate floor, passing there 20-15.  Hagedorn says the same fight would have occurred in the House, with different results.  “I think because the House is more conservative than the Senate, it was very likely the bill would have died in the House,” said Hagedorn.

Another member of JFAC, Rep. Wendy Jaquet, D-Ketchum, supports the use of the federal money and will oppose the move to remove it from the budget.  Jaquet told IdahoReporter.com that the move could lead to the federal government creating a health exchange for Idaho, instead of working with the state to develop one.  “Why would we want to let the federal government set these up for us?” asked Jaquet. “Don’t we want an Idaho solution?”

Gov. Butch Otter has supported efforts to block implementation of the PPACA, but supports use of the federal money to create an Idaho exchange for the reason laid out by Jaquet.  “Unless the law is changed, currently as it’s written, if we don’t go ahead and do this, the feds can go ahead and do it for us,” Jon Hanian, the governor’s spokesman, told IdahoReporter.com Thursday.

Otter signed the Idaho Health Freedom Act last year, a law that authorized the state’s attorney general to sue over a part of the PPACA that requires citizens buy health insurance or pay a penalty to the federal government.  Idaho and the 20 other participants in the case won the first round in court, with a federal judge ruling that the PPACA is wholly unconstitutional, but the administration of President Barack Obama has plans to appeal the judgment.

Jaquet says Idaho should use the funds to move forward with exchange implementation while the court battle is sorted out.  “We can’t walk away from this and think that it will go away while we litigate,” said Jaquet.  “Litigation takes time.”

The bill, proposed earlier this week by a staffer from Otter’s office, is designed to give businesses tax breaks for hiring new employees. The legislation replaces a refundable tax credit bill that cleared the House but stalled in the Senate Local Government and Taxation due to concerns that it wouldn’t help companies quickly enough.

The measure passed 60-9, and now heads to the Senate.

Not everyone was happy with the proposal, however. Rep. Lynn Luker, R-Boise, said the measure is more of the same. “It’s a different cheese, but the same smell,” said Luker.  “We are again subsidizing job growth with taxpayer dollars.” He slammed the fiscal note of the bill, calling it “true voodoo economics” because the financial concept is untried and untested.

While the Boise Republican says he is in favor of job creation, he doesn’t favor government manipulation of markets.  “We want to see new jobs, but this is not the way to do it,” criticized Luker.  “Hires should be made on good business sense.”

Rep. Grant Burgoyne, D-Boise, said that the bill fulfills lawmakers’ primary responsibility. “In my view the business of this Legislature … is to create jobs,” said Burgoyne.

Rep. Wendy Jaquet, D-Ketchum, argued that banks playing it safe with money are making it tougher for businesses to access investment capital and that the state could help companies deal with that.  “I think the government has a role to play here,” said Jaquet.

The new bill uses the same concept of a refundable tax credit, but looks to reward companies that have found ways to retain employees during tough economic times.  Companies that have a positive balance in the unemployment trust fund – meaning that the company has put more into the fund than laid-off workers have taken out – will receive a 6 percent refundable tax rebate of the employee’s total salary.

Companies that have an equal showing in the trust fund would receive a 4 percent credit.  Companies that have a negative balance in the unemployment fund would be eligible for a 2 percent credit.

The old bill gave companies a flat refundable tax credit amounting to 4 percent of a newly-hired employee’s salary, as long as the employee received wages of $12 an hour or more and health benefits.

The new bill would also require that companies in areas of Idaho experiencing unemployment rates greater than 10 percent hire workers at $12 per hour to qualify for the credit, while companies in parts of Idaho that have less than 10 percent unemployment would need to pay at least $15 an hour.

“We are trying to encourage job creation in the areas with the highest unemployment,” said Rep. Mike Moyle, R-Eagle, the floor sponsor of the measure.

The Idaho State Tax Commission would decide exactly what health benefits must be offered to meet thresholds. The bill has a sunset clause set for Dec. 13, 2013.