Dave Lent — The chair is repeatedly addressed during a continuous discussion about teacher pay and career ladder placement rules. The speaker explains how placement and averaging work, responds to questions about minimum pay and the difficulty of producing a fiscal note, and uses the chair as an example in the staffing/averaging explanation. The exchange remains focused on the same policy topic throughout.
Dave Lent — Chairman Hawkins is addressed throughout a continuous committee proceeding. The chair greets the committee and recognizes speakers, receives witness introductions and testimony, responds briefly during discussion, asks whether there are any questions, thanks the witness when testimony concludes, indicates the committee is ready for a motion, and finally closes the committee's work for the day after the motion passes.
James Woodward — Asked whether the turnover statistic might include teachers moving from one school to another.
James Woodward — Representative Nelson first asked whether the committee was ready for a motion, then immediately moved to send House Bill 815 to the floor with a due pass recommendation.
Mr. Taitro — Mr. Taitro clarified that the 83% figure refers to instructional staff retention from one school year to the next, meaning about 17% turnover. He explained that this is instruction-to-instruction retention, so staff may move between districts or charters while remaining in the same role, and added that pupil service retention is about 76%. He also estimated CTE teacher retention at roughly 66% to 67% and then asked whether there were any more questions before testimony began.
Teresa Fritch — Teresa Fritch was introduced as the first witness, then identified herself as a retired school psychologist and representative with national and Idaho school psychology associations. She testified in favor of House Bill 816 and explained that Idaho has a severe shortage of school psychologists, citing very high student-to-psychologist ratios and her own large caseload before retirement. She also described frequent parent requests for help with children’s mental and behavioral health, underscoring the need for school psychologists in supporting students and special education services.
Dr. Joy Jensen — Dr. Joy Jensen is introduced as the next virtual witness and then begins her testimony, greeting the chairman and committee and being prompted to provide her record information.
Dr. Joy Jansen / Dr. Joy Jensen — Testified in support of House Bill 816 on behalf of the Lake Ponderay School District, arguing that prior professional experience should count for pupil service staff.
Jennifer Lingle — Jennifer Lingle, a fourth-generation Idahoan and nurse with nearly 20 years of health care experience in Idaho, testifies in support of House Bill 816. She explains that her school nursing and clinical experience did not allow her to advance on the pay scale until she completed certification and other requirements, illustrating the issue the bill addresses.
Heather Williams — Testified for the Idaho Association of School Administrators in support of House Bill 816.
Alex Beale — Alex Beale was introduced as the next person signed up to testify, then testified in support of House Bill 816 on behalf of Career Technical Educators of Idaho. He explained that the bill would help retain talented industry teachers, described his own long experience in teaching, emphasized the importance of keeping these professionals in the classroom, and noted that the Idaho Division of Career Technical Education has been reviewing and changing certification requirements over the past six months.
Heather Dennis — Former director of Answer Charter School begins testimony on the school's transportation funding history.
Jessica Salceder — Jessica Salceder is introduced and then testifies in support of House Bill 815. She identifies herself as a District 22 resident speaking on her own behalf, and explains that her family would like to use school busing next year to reduce commuting time. She adds that her daughter wants to ride the bus and that Answer Charter School needs transportation support to help families.
Renee Bade — Renee Bade, executive director and parent at Answer Charter School, explained that Answer launched its first full transportation program in 2022-2023 to improve access for students and families. She emphasized that transportation is critical for many families, including those with financial need, and that Answer receives significantly less funding than similarly sized schools because of a 2010 pilot-program baseline. She added that charter schools like Answer operate with about 65% of the funding of traditional public schools, that transportation also supports Answer’s expeditionary learning by enabling off-campus experiences, and that the issue is unique to Answer’s historical circumstances. She concluded that fixing it would not create an ongoing fiscal impact because newer charter schools are funded under updated rules, and noted Answer’s role as one of Idaho’s first charter schools.
Janie Ward-Engelking — Representative Galavis responds to a question about what happens for charter schools going forward, explaining that the existing code language in section 33-106 refers to after fiscal year 2010 and has left Answer in an unusual situation with only a very small transportation grant for a single bus used for field trips. He says the bill is intended to fix that situation so the school receives the same treatment as others rather than special treatment, and closes by asking for support.