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Idaho lawmaker draws ire for comment about teachers 'who don't want to be' in the classroom

Rep. Barbara Ehardt's comments during a House Education Committee hearing drew a stern response from other lawmakers and the state's teachers union.

BOISE, Idaho — For nearly a year now, Idaho students, parents and teachers have had to deal with an ever-changing educational landscape amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

They have gone from in-person learning to online, back to in-person, and most have now settled on some sort of hybrid system.

Through all of this, Gov. Brad Little wanted to spend more money on an early education program - and he wanted the Idaho Legislature to make it happen.

On Monday, the House Education Committee met to hear a proposal to spend $20 million on a literacy initiative for kids in preschool through 4th grade.

Towards the end of the presentation, Idaho Falls Republican Rep. Barbara Ehardt posed a question that ruffled more than a few feathers.

"Many of these kids are in the classroom and the reason that they're suffering is because they're in the classroom with teachers who don't want to be in there teaching," Ehardt said. "So why would we be giving money to classrooms that may contain teachers that don't want to be there?"

Education Committee Chairman Lance Clow, also a Republican, responded to Ehardt, saying her statement "can be pretty offensive" to the vast majority of teachers that are eager to be there.

"Make no mistake," Ehardt said in return. "I 100% support those teachers who want to be there. Unfortunately, they don't all want to be there and we know that, including in this area."

First-year teachers in Idaho make about $40,000 a year. That's after lawmakers increased starting salaries for new teachers two years ago.

Still, Idaho sits near the bottom of the nation for not only teacher salaries but per-student funding as well.

So Ehardt's comments did not sit well with a few lawmakers in the room, including Rep. Sally Toone, a Democrat from Gooding, who spent 37 years as a math teacher in the Magic Valley.

"As a teacher, I don't think we really have a whole lot of teachers out there who don't want to be there at this point," Toone said. "We have made a 180-degree turn, teachers have, in what they have done. And kudos to those out there, because last March when this hit, for whatever reason, they made it.

"They made a turn on a dime and they made classes online ... and they changed and improved those programs immensely, whether we truly like it or not," she added. "This has been a huge shift and I have kudos out there to every district, charter school. You don't go to work every single day and say, 'I'm going to mess up as many kids as I can today.' That is just not happening if you're a true professional in this profession. We are out there for kids."

Ehardt's comments also didn't go over well with Idaho Education Association President Layne McInelly, who called them "inaccurate, disrespectful and out of touch," adding that questioning teachers' motivations is "reckless and counterproductive."

"Idaho teachers desperately want to be in classrooms with students, but they want to do so in an environment that is safe for students and staff," McInelly said in a statement. "But all too often across our state, that goal has not been achieved."

He added that "Threatening to withhold resources from Idaho schools based on an obvious falsehood shows a disturbing lack of concern for our students and professional educators." 

KTVB reached out to Rep. Ehardt to see if she wanted to clarify her comments.

"I want to be very clear that I love and respect our teachers, and no one should take that out of context," she said in a statement. "My statement was in reference to a very specific program which was an in-person teaching program. I was addressing teachers who have expressed a desire to teach virtually as opposed to those who want to be in the classroom. Our kids are struggling and they need our teachers, at school and in-person, so that they can best learn."

Ehardt said her focus, going forward, will be on effectively using the resources we already have in our schools.

It still probably wouldn't hurt to have a little more help. That's why, last week, Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction Sherri Ybarra asked the state for a 2.5% increase in the state's 2022 education budget.

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