Idaho voters reject statewide education reforms

Some of the biggest measures on the Idaho ballot last night — education reform propositions 1, 2 and 3 were rejected.

These changes with the Students Come First plan were proposed to legislators two sessions ago, but what happens now that Idahoans have voted against them?

“We don’t like to play the politics game,” said Keith Leppert, Bonneville Education Association President.

Teachers throughout the state have voiced opposition to props 1, 2 and 3. Now that the fight is over, they said they’re relieved.

“There are still some things that can be done and I think that’s really where we need to move forward to now is, where can we go from here?” said Leppert.

A sentiment that appears to come from both sides.

“You can never have success with something that is resisted by the educators,” said Mack Shirley, state representative.

State representative and vice chairman of the “Yes!” Committee, Mack Shirley, said Idaho voters definitely sided with teachers this election.

“It’s difficult to implement something that the educators themselves feel they weren’t involved in,” said Shirley.

As for the Bonneville Education Association, they’d like to see more cooperation between teachers and legislators.

“These were mandates that didn’t involve the people who should know best,” said Leppert. “When it comes to those type of things, we’d be happy to have those kinds of talks to see where we can move forward and focus on student achievement.”

Working together seems to be the theme for this year’s election.

Both sides of the education reform would like to work together to come to an agreement on how to proceed.

Of course, both agree the interests of students need to take priority.

As far as the bonuses that some teachers are expected to receive by mid-November, the state attorney general said Superintendent Luna has asked for his legal opinion.

He said it’s up to Luna to decide whether those teachers will receive those checks.