COEUR d'ALENE - Finding ways to fund transportation infrastructure and pay increases for teachers may extend this legislative session beyond its expected March 27 adjournment.

"It certainly could still happen, but I think it would be a miracle if we got out of here by March 27," said Rep. Ron Mendive, R-Post Falls. "It's looking pretty grim for us right now."

And there has been no resolution of two items Gov. Butch Otter placed at the top of the list for this legislative session when it began in January.

"And those two issues are still on the table," Mendive said. "I was hoping we would settle some stuff this week."

Mendive sits on the House Education Committee which heard testimony from more than 50 teachers last week, and only one of them supported the so-called Career Ladder bill.

"I found that a little disturbing," he said, explaining their discontent was not about the increase in pay, but rather the evaluation process that would make them eligible for a pay increase.

"It could cause disharmony among the ranks," Mendive said. "It is very difficult to legislate an evaluation process."

He said the way the evaluation process is written in the bill could pit certain teacher classifications against each other.

"I really cannot at this time predict the outcome of this bill," he said.

Mendive said he thinks a solution might be to enact the pay raise portion of the bill and spend the rest of the year trying to create an acceptable evaluation process.

He said the intent of the bill is to provide incentives to retain teachers in Idaho.

"Obviously teachers have to be happy with what the legislation does, too," he said.

Rep. Vito Barbieri, R-Dalton Gardens, said he thinks the teacher pay bill may extend the session as well.

Without a solution on the Career Ladder bill, he said, the Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee will have to delay passage of the education budget.

• Transportation

Barbieri said there is also a lot of competing legislation on transportation funding which could slow things as well.

"I'm working with a group of legislators who want use a portion of the general fund increase," he said, adding they would like to take $120 million of the projected $150 million the state expects to see as new tax growth in the general fund.

"We could fund transportation with no new tax increases at all," Barbieri said.

Rep. Luke Malek, R-Coeur d'Alene, said while transportation funding appears unreachable this session, he expects to see something pass soon.

"It's kind of like when you re-organize your bedroom," he said. "You take everything out and throw it on the floor and then begin to sort things out.

"Then it all starts to come together rather quickly - that's kind of an analogy of what is happening right now."

He said the process can be very frustrating, but that is the nature of the Legislature. He doesn't think transportation will slow down the legislative session.

"The one thing that is consistent with all of these proposals is that none of them do near enough to solve the transportation problems we have," he said.

• Idaho Education Network

Malek, who sits on the Idaho Education Network task force, said even though it appears school districts are saving the state a lot of money contracting for broadband services individually, the task force is taking a wait-and-see approach.

"Obviously we've saved a lot of money, but we don't know if that is sustainable," he said, adding the Legislature still wants to evaluate if a statewide network makes sense.

Malek said there is merit to having a statewide network to ensure constency in the quality of broadband for all Idaho's schools.

"Transportation and the IEN issue won't keep us here, but education can," Malek said.

• Urban Renewal

Rep. Kathy Sims, R-Coeur d'Alene, said the House Local Government Committee is working on a bill that would set up an interim committee to study how urban renewal is used in Idaho.

"I did request to be on that committee," she said. "I think that committee has to have someone on it to represent the taxpayers."

Sims said many of the committee members are seeking appointment to the interim committee to represent urban renewal districts' interests.

Barbieri, who also sits on the Local Government Committee, said the committee plans to look at differing issues around the use of urban renewal dollars.

"There is an issue with using urban renewal for libraries," he said explaining that the libraries don't generate tax revenue and some legislators would like to disallow the use of using urban renewal dollars to build them.

• Sunshine Schools

Sen. Mary Souza, R-Coeur d'Alene, has reason to celebrate her first legislative victory.

Her first bill, which would require local school board candidates to disclose campaign finances like all other elected officials, passed through the Senate last week.

"It has been a real learning process," Souza said, adding she made a "rookie mistake" as the legislation was before the full Senate for a vote.

"The Senate went at ease for a moment," she said, explaining that she had forgotten to update the bill's statement of purpose to reflect that the bill had been amended.

The bill originally contained an emergency clause that would have made the bill effective as soon as it was passed, which would have required school board candidates running for office this spring to begin reporting their campaign contributions.

She said the statement of purpose was eventually updated and the Senate reconvened for a vote on the bill, which passed 24 to 11. The bill now moves to the House for consideration.