COEUR d'ALENE - Idaho public schools chief Tom Luna told North Idaho school district administrators and educators that much of the responsibility for putting the state's new education reforms into practice now rests with them.

The Idaho Department of Education's post-legislative tour passed through Coeur d'Alene Monday, and brought representatives from throughout the region to a day-long meeting held on the North Idaho College campus.

"Students Come First is comprehensive and systemic. It wasn't just tinkering around the edges. You know that," Luna said.

The public schools chief gave the opening remarks at the start of the session, part of an annual series of meetings that provides a venue for Luna and education department officials to discuss how changes made during the recently ended legislative session will affect public schools.

"The solution wasn't just to reduce funding further. The point is we have to reform every classroom," Luna said.

Broken down into three bills, the reforms were passed by lawmakers amid weeks of contentious House and Senate committee hearings, and protests by students and teachers throughout the state.

One of the measures restricts the bargaining powers of district-level local teachers unions to salaries and benefits, and also eliminates indefinite continuing contracts for all new teachers, and any who have not yet been given tenure.

The legislation increases the minimum salary for Idaho educators from $29,655 to $30,000. It also increases classroom technology and provides merit pay bonuses for teachers, funding those items by shifting money from the amounts previously allotted to districts for salaries.

The amounts districts will receive for salaries are going to be reduced by 1.67 percent in 2012, 4.05 percent in 2013, 6.3 percent in 2014, 6.42 percent in 2015, 6.21 percent in 2016, and 5.74 percent in 2017 and every year after that.

Luna said, following the meeting, that the built-in salary funding decreases are not as daunting as they appear. They are not cumulative. For example, the decrease in 2013 will be an additional 2.38 percent, not the full 4.05 percent on top of the 2012 decrease of 1.67 percent.

"The salary apportionment affects administrators as well as teachers," Luna told The Press. "They could solve all of that by cutting administration."

The percentages are subject to change based on the economy, he said, and 90 percent of those funds will be returned to the districts to be distributed to high-performing teachers as merit bonuses.

Luna defended the name of the education reform plan. Some criticized "Students Come First," he said, saying the name implies there are those who don't put students first.

"The way we pay teachers does not put students first," Luna said.

Luna said he strongly opposed reducing funding for programs for gifted and talented students and for those who are struggling as a means to reduce cuts to salaries.

"People supported that. Some even in this room," Luna said.

Advocating those student program reductions while seeking funds for retirement bonuses "is not putting students first," he said.

Many of the new education laws require that local school boards create their own policies and procedures to put the reforms into action.

"I caution you to be careful with this new authority," Luna said.

He encouraged school officials to seek input from "every stakeholder" - teachers, parents, students and taxpayers.

The new legislation requires that districts and teachers unions conduct negotiations in public. It calls for districts to put their budgets and master contracts with the teachers' unions on their websites, and promises an education department-generated report card for each district that provides information like average teacher pay and how much money is being spent in the classroom per child.

"I would publish more information than is required under this law," Luna said. "We have to make public education more transparent."

He said he believes the economy will improve, but cautioned the educators and administrators to be prepared for slower revenue increases.