CRAPO TO LEGISLATURE: DON'T EXPAND THE BUDGET'S BASE

Lawmakers ought to cautiously spend Idaho's portion of federal stimulus dollars, Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, said Tuesday in a return to the Idaho Senate just hours before President Obama signed the $787 billion stimulus bill in Denver.

Legislators ought not to overstretch the budget with ongoing spending, Crapo said.

"I just encourage you as you deal with this largess ... that you pay very close attention to what it does to your base," Crapo said.

Crapo, who served in the Legislature from 1984 to 1992, said the Idaho lawmakers are faced with an "interesting job" in deciding what to do with between $600 million and $1 billion the state is expected to receive from the federal government.

Crapo, who along with the rest of the Idaho delegation voted against the package, said there were certain parts of the stimulus that he agreed with.

He singled out some of the tax relief and the $6.4 billion dedicated to expedited environmental cleanup as good pieces. Crapo said about $400 million of that money could come to Idaho.

Crapo said he would have preferred that the federal government deal with the housing crisis first, the credit crisis second and then consider a stimulus effort.

"The underlying premise of this bill is that you can spend yourself into prosperity," Crapo said.

"I reject this notion."

Brian Murphy and Kathleen Kreller

Luna meets with union, Democrats over teacher-contract bill

Idaho's public schools chief said he has met with teachers and Democrats in an attempt to defuse the controversy that erupted over a proposal to end multiyear teacher contracts last week.

Tom Luna told the Idaho Statesman that he met with members of the Idaho Education Association and Democratic legislators to resolve differences over legislation introduced Thursday by Senate Education Committee Chairman Bob Nonini. The bill would eliminate teacher union contracts of more than one year and allow districts to reduce the salaries or contract days of experienced teachers.

The Idaho Education Association and Democrats said the bills were an attempt to use the economic crisis to break unions. Descriptions of the bills ranged from "draconian" to "mean-spirited."

"I was genuinely surprised at the response," Luna said. "When I saw the response, I got ahold of members of the IEA and members of the Democratic Party and asked what there was in this bill that surprised them and was unacceptable. Identify those parts in the bill that were overreaching and unnecessary."

Luna said the Friday meeting helped ease some concerns and tone down the rhetoric. He said opponents of the measures considered some of the provisions too broad, especially one that did not allow teachers to work under the terms of a previous contract while a new contract was being negotiated.

"They want to make these things temporary," Luna said. "That's how we'll handle it."

The federal stimulus package, which Luna estimates could bring $346 million to public education in the state, could forestall any legislative changes or budget cuts in public education, offering a reprieve from the battle over Nonini's bills.

Luna also scrapped a plan to ask the Land Board for a $30 million one-time payment Tuesday from its endowment fund to help offset education cuts.

Brian Murphy