Luna stumps for education reform

SANDPOINT — Community Hall filled up fast Tuesday night to check out Idaho Superintendent Tom Luna’s presentation on Idaho education reform laws up for voter approval.

Over two hours, Luna used his time to go over the details of Propositions 1, 2 and 3, which represent laws voters will either uphold or strike down come Tuesday. After a PowerPoint presentation, he answered a thick stack of cards containing questions from the audience.

“You have a choice next week,” Luna said at the conclusion of the meeting. “We have to decide whether we continue down this path or go back to the system we had before.”

In regard to Proposition 1, which limits collective bargaining rights and negotiated teacher contracts while eliminating automatic renewal contracts if upheld, Luna said that the changes don’t limit options for teachers. One individual questioned why 80 percent of teachers chose to belong to the Idaho Education Association if it was a nonessential organization, and Luna responded that teachers could belong to any organization they wished. He said the purpose of this arm of the reform law was to give school boards full power over staffing by eliminating the concepts of tenure and “first hired, first fired.”

“Anyone who has served on a school board knows that what’s possible isn’t always probable,” Luna said in response to a question stating that due process could be used to remove teachers with seniority.

Proposition 2, if passed, will affect the teacher payment by adding pay-for-performance bonuses to current compensation system, which awards more experience and education with higher salaries. One attendee was concerned this new dynamic would foster competition among colleagues. In response, Luna said that bonuses awarded for student growth would not take place on an individual teacher level but rather among staff as a group. He said other cause for bonuses include filling hard-to-come-by spots in the faculty decided by the school board and taking on leadership roles within the school. Based on current data, Luna said eight out of 10 teachers earned a bonus.

The new system is designed to reward the best teachers in the state, Luna added. He backed up his argument with statistics emphasizing the importance of a highly effective teacher in student growth.

Finally, Proposition 3 introduces an emphasis on technology in the classroom by outfitting each student with a computing device and requiring two out of 46 high school credits to be online classes. The computer portion of this section is filled by a $23 million-a-year contract with Hewlett-Packard, which amounts to $300 per student. In return, the company will provide laptops, technical support, software updates and other services.

“We’re not buying computers,” Luna said. “We’re buying a managed service.”  

In response to attendees who worried that some students couldn’t succeed in online classes, Luna said that online learning is a 21st century skill essential in higher education. Furthermore, it would connect students to the best teachers and professors across the Idaho Education Network regardless of geography.