BOISE (AP) - One of the Idaho Legislature's most anticipated pieces of legislation attracted hundreds of teachers, parents and state educational officials to the Capitol on Tuesday eager to testify and implore lawmakers for more money for public school teachers.

After listening to more than five hours of testimony on Tuesday, however, House lawmakers are still nowhere closer to sealing the fate of a bill that would pump $125 million of new spending over five years to increase teacher salaries. The Idaho House Education Committee is scheduled to continue listening to testimony Wednesday morning.

Under the plan, rookie teacher pay would bump up from $31,750 a year to $32,200 a year. By 2020, new teachers would be paid $37,000 a year. After three years, teachers would be eligible to move up to a second tier if they hit certain benchmarks. Their pay grade would range from $42,000 to $50,000 per year.

The first year of the plan, which would begin July 1, is estimated to cost taxpayers roughly $32 million.

The plan was overwhelmingly opposed by teachers who testified Tuesday. Many cited concerns that while the Idaho Legislature may fund pay increases this year, there's no guarantee lawmakers will have the same political will or the resources to make the same commitment over the next five years.

Others argued that the plan proposes too little a raise that's tied with too strict of accountability measures, such as performance evaluations and student test scores.

"We are told this will attract and retain teachers. I am an instructor with 11 years of experience - this does not attract and retain me," said Kari Overall, who works for the Boise School District.

The proposal not only is being opposed by the Idaho Education Association, the state's powerful teachers union, but also sparked concerns from Superintendent of Public Instruction Sherri Ybarra.

"I would like to put together a cabinet to further review the evaluation tools we currently have in place so we make sure evaluations are applied fairly and with equity," Ybarra said in a statement released after attending the lengthy hearing.

The Republican schools chief also added she would rather set up a team to review teacher evaluations and implement a pilot program that would test out a new teacher pay grid on just 10 schools, rather than the entire state.

Marilyn Whitney, educational liaison for Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter, agreed with other supporters that the bill was not perfect but that it was the best start to halting the exodus of Idaho's teachers seeking higher compensation in other states.

"No one is suggesting that we don't have great teachers in Idaho. But what (we) have heard over and over again is that districts lose teachers in three years, largely because of compensation," Whitney said.

The bill is part of an ongoing effort to halt the exodus of Idaho's teachers seeking higher salaries, often found in neighboring states.

Chairman Reed DeMordaunt, R-Eagle, did not specify when the committee would be vote on the legislation, even though state budget-writers are scheduled to begin setting the education budget on Thursday. Traditionally, the Joint Finance Appropriations Committee does not budget for bills that have not passed in at least one chamber.