A bill introduced by a Coeur d'Alene legislator on Tuesday could allow school districts to better compensate and retain talented teachers, district officials said.

"We need to be able to attract and retain high quality of staff," said Matt Handelman, assistant superintendent with the Coeur d'Alene School District. "We need to make sure we are competitive, not just within the state, but also around it."

The bill introduced by Rep. Bob Nonini would restore the nearly $35 million in salary reductions for teachers and school staff last year that had been funneled to pay for part of the Students Come First education reform.

Legislators had promised teachers to plug any increased revenue back into salaries, Nonini said on Tuesday afternoon.

"That's what we've done," said Nonini, chair of the House Education Committee. "Everything from last year's legislation that was removed has been put back in."

HB 698 would also require that minimum teacher salary - for beginning teachers - increase at twice the rate of general base salaries in the future.

Under current law, minimum teacher salary only increases at 1.5 times the base salary rate.

"When we increase the base for all teachers, minimum teachers will get two times that," Nonini said. "We've heard that beginning teachers don't want to come to Idaho because our starting wage is so low, and we need to address that concern."

The bill also prioritizes for certain funds in 2014 to go toward Students Come First, to replace the $34,747,500 being returned to teachers' salaries over the next five years.

The education reform includes measures like merit pay and new laptops.

"If the economy turns around enough, we'll be in a position to fund those things," Nonini said.

The bill is expected to have a hearing before the House Education Committee this morning. Nonini said he hopes it will be sped to the House floor for debate this afternoon, and then sent to the Senate.

Sen. John Goedde, chair of the Senate Education Committee, lauded that Nonini's bill is similar to the previous Senate Bill 1331, with the additions of the increased minimum salary and consideration for Students Come First.

"I don't think the bill's going to have any problems on our side," said Goedde, a Coeur d'Alene Republican.

Brad Murray, assistant superintendent with Lakeland School District, said he had been irked by last year's measure taking dollars from teacher's salaries and reallocating them to technology and performance pay.

"Pay for performance incentives are good, but don't take away and then re-reward to other schools, other districts," Murray said.

Teachers in his district haven't received a pay increase in four years, he added. Recently a few staff members have taken jobs elsewhere for higher pay.

"It's sad to see some of our better teachers opting to do that," he said.

Murray applauds Nonini's measure for helping teachers earn more, Murray said. But he acknowledged his district's base salary is already at $31,750, higher than the state's.

"When the state increases the state base, it doesn't necessarily mean it will be above what we're paying," he said. "It may not have an impact on our district."

Handelman with the Coeur d'Alene School District said he hadn't read the bill yet, but he approved the idea of boosting beginning teachers' salaries.

"To live off their wages," he said of why new educators need an increase from the starting salary of around $30,000. "It's a pretty low starting salary in this state."

He noted that higher salaries are crucial to keep up with better paying districts in Washington.

"You're competing with other places," Handelman said. "We can certainly provide quality of life, but people also have to be able to afford it."