What people are saying

The bills that the Governor signed were advertised as legislation to improve the education of our students. But these bills put our classrooms at risk. As parents, we share the common goal of building strong classrooms by retaining and drawing great teachers to Idaho. We continue to work in partnership with the teachers, administrators and union representatives and believe there are better compromises and solutions to maintain the integrity of our classrooms.

~ Maria Greeley, Idaho Parents and Teachers Together

The bill takes more money from salary-based apportionment for the purpose of buying technology. For me, that’s a bridge too far. I personally would rather us defer how we’re going to pay for that, focus on the approach of what should be done, and then as a state go and find the revenue to do it.

~ Senate Majority Leader Bart Davis (R-Idaho Falls)

I’ve never had as much outpouring of opposition to a bill as we’ve seen on this bill, and yet this legislature passed it. … through our democratic process, people have an opportunity to say “no.”

~ Sen. Nicole LeFavour (D-Boise)

Mr. Luna’s plan offers schools no reform, just massive cuts dressed up as reform.

~ Mike Lanza, Idaho Parents and Teachers Together

(Gov. Butch Otter) said it is imperative that the Luna Plan be implemented as soon as possible so students will have access to the wealth of information on the internet superhighway. …The governor said the absence of a teacher in the classroom will not affect student learning and in times of fiscal hardship students must be responsible for their personal pursuit of knowledge. “You raise a generation of people who have taken on more personal responsibility and accountablity, then you’ve got a good generation coming on,” he said.

~ Shoshone News-Press, May 26, 2011