Sen. Edgar Malepeai (D-Pocatello) called out Luna just now on the inflamed rhetoric that he and his allies have been using to describe teachers as union members. “Do teachers matter?” he asked. “On any major reform, you need the stakeholders to buy in, or it is not a success.” He echoed Sen. Toryanski's call for due diligence and caution in enacting change, as well as the buy-in of people who will be asked to implement the change (a.k.a. teachers).
Luna replied that he thinks the “teacher union leaders” do not represent most teachers in Idaho, adding, “I think they're completely out of touch with the electorate and parents.”
That's an interesting comment, given the overwhelming public opposition to the plan – a plan no one heard anything about before three weeks ago, and certainly not during last year's election.
