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SCR111.........................................................by EDUCATION PUBLIC SCHOOL EMPLOYEES - Stating findings of the Legislature and establishing a goal to provide increased compensation for Idaho's public school employees. 02/14 Senate intro - 1st rdg - to printing 02/15 Rpt prt - to Educ 03/10 Rpt out - rec d/p - to 10th Ord 03/16 10th Ord - FAILED - 15-19-0, 1 vacancy AYES -- Andreason, Broadsword, Burkett, Coiner, Corder, Darrington, Gannon, Kelly, Keough, Langhorst, Malepeai, Marley, Schroeder, Stennett, Werk NAYS -- Brandt, Bunderson, Burtenshaw, Cameron, Compton, Davis, Geddes, Goedde, Hill, Jorgenson, Little, Lodge, McGee, McKenzie, Pearce, Richardson, Stegner, Sweet, Williams Absent and excused -- (District 21 seat vacant) Floor Sponsor - Marley Filed in Office of the Secretary of Senate
]]]] LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ]]]] Fifty-eighth Legislature First Regular Session - 2005IN THE SENATE SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 111 BY EDUCATION COMMITTEE 1 A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 2 STATING FINDINGS OF THE LEGISLATURE AND ESTABLISHING A GOAL TO PROVIDE 3 INCREASED COMPENSATION FOR IDAHO'S PUBLIC SCHOOL EMPLOYEES. 4 Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Idaho: 5 WHEREAS, Idaho's public schools are the cornerstone of our state's democ- 6 racy, as well as a critical component of our economic vitality; and 7 WHEREAS, research indicates that, next to a child's parents, the most 8 critical factor in a student's educational life is the student's teacher; and 9 WHEREAS, Idaho's public school employees are an essential ingredient in 10 ensuring that our schools are successful by educating and mentoring into citi- 11 zenship the overwhelming majority of our state's children; and 12 WHEREAS, the Legislature wishes to recognize the dedication of all public 13 school employees and to assure them that their well-being is among our highest 14 priorities; and 15 WHEREAS, the federal No Child Left Behind Act requires school districts to 16 employ highly qualified teachers; and 17 WHEREAS, the Legislature has, in the past, taken steps to increase the 18 minimum entry level salary paid to teachers and allocated funds sufficient to 19 raising the average salary of Idaho teachers but has been unable to sustain 20 that commitment over an extended period of time; and 21 WHEREAS, the competition for knowledge and skilled workers has increased 22 to the point where young people considering their futures have an array of 23 choices that are economically more attractive than entering the teaching field 24 including, for example, the average entry wage for nursing is $36,800, postal 25 service clerks is $37,800, and dental hygienists is $44,800; and 26 WHEREAS, the compensation public school educators receive is a significant 27 contributor to the decision whether to undertake a career in public education 28 and then whether to remain in that profession; and 29 WHEREAS, the Governor's 2020 Blue Ribbon Task Force provided a recommenda- 30 tion to the Governor in October, 2003, establishing a goal to "attract the 31 brightest new educators, retain skilled, veteran educators, and increase 32 expectations for performance" by, in part, adopting the following recommenda- 33 tion: 34 "Raise the beginning teacher salary starting in 2004 to reach $35,000 by 35 2008 and adjust the current scale to reflect this increased base to pro- 36 vide a professional wage for teachers and principals. Provide funding from 37 the state to meet this salary increase."; and 38 WHEREAS, due to difficult economic circumstances, the Legislature has not 39 increased the state's salary allocation base since fiscal year 2001; and 40 WHEREAS, during that same time frame inflation increased more than 16%; 41 and 42 WHEREAS, the Legislature recognizes that our state's economy is beginning 43 to rebound from several years of challenging times; and 44 WHEREAS, it is the prerogative of the Legislature to establish for itself 2 1 a goal to guide its decisions in the future, to measure its progress on an 2 annual basis, and to ensure that appropriate decisions are made during each 3 legislative session. 4 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the members of the First Regular Session 5 of the Fifty-eighth Idaho Legislature, the Senate and the House of Representa- 6 tives concurring therein, that we establish for ourselves a goal of increas- 7 ing Idaho's beginning teacher salary to $35,000 by the 2008-2009 school year. 8 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that, by that same year, our goal is to fund the 9 state's salary allocation, based on the experience and education table, so 10 that the average salary for Idaho teachers will be no less than $55,000. 11 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that, by that same year, state funding for other 12 categories of public school employees will have received increases of similar 13 proportions.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE RS 14938 The purpose of this concurrent resolution is to establish a legislative goal for increasing the beginning and average salary levels for Idaho public school teachers, as well as other categories of public school employees. FISCAL NOTE The estimated impact of reaching the average salary included in this resolution is $180 million. Contact Name: Bert Marley Phone: 208-332-1407 Mike Burkett 332-1351 Gary Schroeder 332-1323 STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE SCR 111