Dive Brief:

• Idaho Gov. Butch Otter has signed a $125.5 million career ladder teacher salary bill, which will give educators incremental raises through the 2019-20 school year.
• If the bill receives full funding from the legislature over the next five years, the minimum pay for a teacher will have spiked over 15% by the time it expires. Starting salaries will climb from $31,750 to $37,000, and salaries for professional teachers will rise from $42,500 to $50,000.
• The bill has had a rocky journey to Otter's desk. The Idaho Education Association initially opposed the bill because educators were not invited to the table to discuss what the ladder would look like, and there is still hope that salaries can hit the initial $50K-$60K proposed by the union.

Dive Insight:

Obviously nobody is going to say no to raises, but the tough feelings around this bill do highlight the fact that it is critical that politicians speak with educators and administrators.

Salary raise aside, it also seems important to point out that Idaho is deciding to spend its money on something tangible and beneficial like salary increases. Last month, the Idaho Legislature’s Office of Performance Evaluations released a report finding that the state wasted a whopping $61 million on an ineffective implementation of Pearson's SchoolNet.