Susan Garcia, Pocatello teacher of 31 years: “Ask me what it takes to put students first. I know.” Has seen pendulum of change swing back and forth, but No Child Left Behind mandates and budget cuts have been worst developments. She's never had a class of 18 or 19 students; current classroom fails to meet fire safety standards. Had to move four desks out of her room. “If you put more students in my classroom, I'm putting them in harm's way.”
Jennifer Swindell, speaking on behalf of Caldwell superintendent Roger Quarles: Schools have been showing tremendous progress in recent years. We understand we can't support education with current revenues, so we support Tom Luna's plan. New divisors may be difficult, but rather than saying no, we are working to say yes.
Emma Roemhildt, speaking for Idahoans for Choice in Education: Online learning works. Her Alaska school had a laptop program that worked well, too, with laptops remaining school property and refurbished each year. Now, as an NNU student, she spends more time researching online than in class. “The world has already decided and your students have already decided.”
Just had to bat down Twitter rumor that IEA is paying teachers to be here. Not true: Association paid some travel expenses. But what else do Luna plan backers have when testimony is so lopsidedly against his ideas?
