The Boise School Board voted Tuesday to oppose the Students Come First laws, Propositions 1, 2 and 3 on the Nov. 6 ballot.
"This isn't a surprise. When these laws were presented in the Legislature, the board was opposed at that time," said board President A.J. Balukoff.
Since then, he said, additional research and analysis showed how the law would affect the Boise district. The board found no evidence that the pay-for-performance plan would improve student success, the board said in a press release. The board also said there's no plan to demonstrate how technology funds will translate into improved student performance.
Prop 1 concerns the law limiting teacher contract negotiations to issues of pay and benefit. Prop 2 ties teacher pay to state-mandated test scores, student performance and other measures. Prop. 3 addresses the law that requires online courses and provides laptops for students. The Boise board vote differs from that of the Idaho School Boards Association, which voted to support Prop. 1, said Executive Director Karen Echeverria. The statewide board is not taking a position on Props 2 and 3.
"Proposition 1 affects board members the most because they're on the other side of the table when it comes to collective bargaining," said Echeverria.
The ISBA based its vote on a recent statewide survey of 113 Idaho districts.
"What we saw was that negotiations have gone well," said Echeverria. "The majority were able to come to agreements with bargaining units. The comments were positive," said Echeverria. Support of Prop. 1 is in line with resolutions and positions the board has taken over the past 20 years, she added.
The statewide teachers' union, Idaho Education Association, has opposed the new laws since Luna proposed them early in the 2011 legislative session. The State Board of Education supports the laws.
Read more about the Boise School District positions on Students Come First laws: http://www.boiseschools.org/
See the full results from the Idaho School Board Association's survey on negotiations: http://www.idsba.org/
