Idaho teachers who earned bonuses last year will still receive their checks, even though voters overturned performance pay in Idaho. The state attorney general's office made the call in a legal opinion released Monday.
The question was whether school districts can carry out part of a law even after that law is repealed.
A series of education measures had already been in effect for a full school year when Idaho voters rejected the laws last week. That left $38 million in teacher bonus pay in legal limbo.
School districts didn't know if they could legally distribute the bonus money after the election is certified on Nov. 21.
The attorney general now says: they can. Idaho schools superintendent Tom Luna spoke with reporters about the rejected school laws, which he had pushed.
“I hope that this is a demonstration that it wasn't a perfect plan but it was a good plan. It got 5.8 percent increase in compensation for teachers. If there's things we can do to make it better and palatable, let's move forward.”
Teachers and their union waged an expensive battle against Luna’s measures. The other laws restricted teachers’ collective bargaining rights and called for more emphasis on classroom technology.
Copyright 2012 Northwest News Network
Copyright 2012 Northwest News Network
