March 7, 2025 • 29 mins
This week: a legislative update and discussion about IEA's annual Delegate Assembly with IEA President Layne McInelly. Delegate Assembly, the highest governing body of the largest union in Idaho, will be held April 4-5 in Boise.
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Episode Transcript
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Mike Journee (00:11):
Music. Welcome to the IEA reporter podcast, a
regular discussion about thenews and events important to
Idaho Education Associationmembers and those who value
public education. IEA membersare public school educators from
all over the state and membersof the largest union in Idaho.
They're Idaho's most importanteducation experts, and they use
(00:32):
their influence to fight for afree, quality and equitable
public education for everystudent in the state. I'm Mike
Journee, communications directorDIA and I'll be your host for
this episode. Today, we talk toIAEA President Blaine mcinelli
About IAEA annual delegateassembly, which will be held
April 4 and fifth in Boise thisyear. But first a look at what
(00:55):
happened this week at the Idaholegislature with IAEA Associate
Executive Director Matt Compton.
Matt Compton, thanks for joiningto this quick round up of the
happenings at the state housethis past week, I wanted to talk
quickly about a bill broughtforward by Representative Wendy
(01:17):
hormond out of Idaho Falls. Thisis a bill that changes the the
responsibility for graduationstandards in the state of Idaho,
and takes it out of the hands ofthe the Department of Education
and puts it in the hands of thelegislature. Can you talk a
little bit about House Bill 298,
Matt Compton (01:36):
yeah, yeah.
Absolutely. Like you said, thisis a piece of legislation that
is brought to us byRepresentative Wendy Horman out
of Idaho Falls she's the samerepresentative who brought us
House Bill 93 which was thevoucher legislation the bill
that you're referring to, HouseBill 98 the graduation
requirements are typically donethrough a negotiated rule making
process through the StateDepartment In the State Board of
(01:58):
Education, where experts andpolicy makers and parents can
all get together and talk aboutwhat those requirements ought to
look like for for graduation,what House Bill 298 proposes to
do is actually wrestle that awayfrom the local control or away
from impact for the input fromInterest holders, and puts it in
(02:19):
the the partisan and highlypolitical hands of of lawmakers.
And that's really what the riskis here.
Mike Journee (02:30):
Yeah, that bill has been heard in the house and
House Committee. It was passedout of committee, and it awaits
the full deliberation on theHouse floor that could happen
any day could happen today as amatter of fact, and and then it
would travel over to the Senateside. We'll be keeping a close
eye on that bill, and memberscan can take a look at IEA
reporter on our website and getthe latest on that, Matt.
(02:54):
Another bill we want to talkabout is House Bill 41 a bill
brought forward byRepresentative Ted Hill out of
Eagle. And this legislation isintended to to limit the way
educators display pennants andflags in their classroom. The
impetus, of course, was therainbow flag, the pride flag,
(03:15):
for bringing this forward. Andthe bill has has passed both
houses and it's mended, but itwas mended into sin. So it's
going back to to the house forfinal approval, and then we'll
go to be passed on to thegovernor. Talk a little bit
about about house before you woneven
Matt Compton (03:32):
So Ted hills, a representative out of
legislative district 14, hebrought this legislation last
year, which would prohibit anykind of political flags or
banners in classrooms, becausewhat he says is that they are
they create a disruptiveenvironment through learning,
through debate, it becameevident that the legislation
(03:53):
aimed to prohibit any kind ofdisplay of flags that the
legislature doesn't like. Sowhat the what the Senate did is
asked for the House toexplicitly outline what it is
that is being banned in the billand sent it back to the house
for full adoption. So there's agreat opportunity here for
members or the general public toreach out to lawmakers on House
(04:14):
Bill 41 and just encourage themto vote this down,
Mike Journee (04:20):
another bill that we've been paying attention to
that really has been bottled upis the union busting bill that
we have written about in thepast and have talked about on
this podcast, that bill still isawaiting hearing on the Senate
side. You're
Matt Compton (04:33):
right it. We haven't heard much of the union
busting bill. That's House Bill98 but what Chris and I have
seen at the capitol is that thenumber of lobbyists, the out of
state lobbyists who are workingon this legislation, continue to
grow. I think at this point wehave six or seven lobbyists from
different firms who are workingon this legislation to try to
interfere with the unionactivities on school property.
(04:56):
So this is definitely somethingthat we're keeping an eye on,
because this would. Be a realissue for our members if it were
to pass.
Mike Journee (05:05):
There's a lot of pressure, lot of pressure on
folks similar to what we sawwith the voucher legislation, a
lot of lobbyist pressure onlawmakers to to pass this bill.
Again, we've got some we've gotsome stalwart folks who
understand the value that thisunion has in public schools and
but that's not the only billthat's been been targeting
unions. There's another bill outthere targeting the collective
(05:27):
bargaining rights offirefighters. So there's
definitely an anti unionsentiment in this legislature.
Matt Compton (05:33):
That's absolutely true.
Mike Journee (05:36):
Lastly, Matt, just want to bring up this time of
the session, we start talkingabout budget bills. Now that the
committees have been working ontheir policy, those policies are
now being funded through budgetbills. One of those budget bills
that I want to bring up, ofcourse, we have education
funding, education fundingbills, and that's a different
process this year than it hasbeen passed. So I ask you to
talk about that, but we also Iwant to ask you quickly about
(05:58):
what you're hearing. Where thepay rate bills for state
employees, including educators,sits.
Matt Compton (06:04):
Yeah, really good question. This is a really
squirrely part of thelegislative session when budget
bills began begin being used aspolitical pawns, or exchanged
between the House and theSenate, determining on that,
determining what other pieces oflegislation they're trying to
leverage for passage. So budgetbills are always the last bills
(06:27):
to make their way through thelegislative session because
lawmakers are trying to figureout how much money to put in a
particular line item, or they'rejockeying for additional
resources for other pieces oflegislation. Now, what we are
hearing from the legislatureright now is that jfac is being
held up on these budget billsbecause the proponents from
House Bill 93 which was thevoucher legislation that just
(06:50):
passed, are now trying to diginto this year's legislation to
find an additional $50 millionfor next year's appropriations,
so that effectively would doublefrom $50 million for the tax
credit voucher to $100 millionso that's what we're seeing at
the legislature play out, andthat's that's why we're asking
for folks to be so diligentthrough the the end of this
(07:15):
session as as lawmakers reallytried to reinforce their win
that they got on House Bill 93for their voucher this year.
Mike Journee (07:26):
So we knew, we knew about the proponents were
going to be digging in andtrying to get more money for
that bill, but we had no ideathat it was going to going to
happen before, before the gavelat the end of the session.
That's pretty phenomenal, thatthey're already digging in and
trying to find more money forthat bill.
Matt Compton (07:41):
That's absolutely true there. There are a number
of tax like income tax breaks ordifferent types of property tax
breaks that the legislature istrying to give back to taxpayers
this year, but they're lookingat ways to how do they how do
they minimize those returns totaxpayers by pulling an
additional 50 million for nextyear. So yeah, this, this is
(08:04):
look like it's going to costtaxpayers a significant amount
of money going into year overyear, for education budgets, for
to fund House Bill 93 which wasthat much the voucher bill,
Mike Journee (08:17):
the voucher bill that 1000s upon 1000s of
Idahoans called into thelegislature, into the governor's
office to encourage them toreject and unfortunately,
Governor little signed the billa little over a week ago. So
Matt, what are you hearing aboutthe pay raise bill for state
employees, which would includeeducators?
Matt Compton (08:37):
Yep, that bill is making its way through the
process. It will be one that wehear, probably likely on the
House floor or midweek nextweek, late next week, it will be
one of the later bills that willthat will be heard in the house
again, using it as one of thesepolitical pawns or exchange, or
some folks call hostages thatfor an exchanging for other
(08:59):
legislation. So we'll becontinue to following the
educator pay bill through theprocess, but we're not seeing
any real blockades for thatright now.
Mike Journee (09:09):
That's great to hear Politics does play odd
games at the end of the session,but it's good to hear that so
far, the road goes clear forthat bill. Matt, thanks again
for joining us and talking aboutwhat's happening at the
legislature this week.
(09:30):
Next up on the IAEA reporterpodcast, a discussion with IAEA
president, Lane Micheal, aboutIEA annual delegate assembly,
the highest governing body ofIdaho's largest union. This
year, Delegate assembly will beheld April 4 and fifth in Boise
lane. Micheal, thanks forjoining us for another episode
of the IEA reporter podcast.
We're talking today about thedelegate assembly. Our delegate
(09:55):
assembly is coming up early nextmonth, and. But we want to just
talk about the delegate assemblyits place in the union and what
purpose it serves.
Unknown (10:05):
Thanks, Mike, so the delegate assembly is the highest
governing body of ourassociation. It's where members
get to come together and decidehow we should move forward with
the Association for the nextyear. That's through doing new
business items, through thelegislative guide, through
resolutions, through alldifferent ways the members get
(10:26):
to decide what direction we wantto move as an association.
Mike Journee (10:30):
But we talk a lot about ies democratic nature.
This is really kind of where therubber meets the road, as far as
that goes, right? I mean, it'swhere rank and file members or I
guess these are probably moreengaged members than most
members, but it's where membershave their voice and can really
guide the direction of theirunion.
Unknown (10:50):
It really is. It's an opportunity for all voices to be
heard in the room. Every memberhas the chance to stand up and
speak for or against any item,and voice their concerns and
voice how they fill it shouldhappen in their local, in their
building, in their classroom,every voice, like I said, has a
voice in that room.
Mike Journee (11:12):
That's right.
Well, how are delegates to thedelegate assembly? Select each
local
Unknown (11:17):
holds elections. So if you ever want to go to go to
delegate assembly like nextyear, you would submit your name
to the local President or theelections chair within your
local and tell them that you'reinterested in running for
delegate assembly and your localshould have an election, and you
would be elected to attend andrepresent your local at delegate
assembly.
Mike Journee (11:39):
And each local has a certain amount of seats that
they're afforded based upon thesize of their local. And one
isn't that correct?
Unknown (11:47):
That is correct. Every local is guaranteed one
delegate, but then it goes upper membership. So as your
membership grows, you have moreopportunities to have delegates
attend delegate assembly, and
Mike Journee (12:00):
we'll talk a little bit about new business
items and resolutions and in thelegislative guide here in a
minute, but, but before we getto that. And of course, the
budget is part of this processtoo, but the delegate assembly
isn't all business. This eventis, is one of the ways that
really, most our most engagedmembers can connect with one
another. Da is also aboutcamaraderie, isn't it?
Unknown (12:24):
It really is. It's about an opportunity for
educators from around the stateto get together and discuss
education topics that is goingon in their local brainstorm,
bounce ideas off of each other,and then make a new friend, be
able to contact them throughoutthe year and say they have a
question or they have a concernand bounce an idea off of them.
(12:45):
And so it's a great way to makeconnections from all over the
state with educators that get todo the same job that you do,
just in a different location.
Mike Journee (12:56):
So lane, first, I got two questions for you.
First, how many das had youattended and then, and what is
your favorite part of the event?
Unknown (13:07):
So I think this will be my 16th da that I've attended.
So I've been doing it for awhile. I've been in state
leadership since 2014 withDelegate assembly. So it's been,
it's been a while since I'vebeen doing this. So my favorite
part, I'm going to say there aretwo things that I really, really
enjoy about delegate assembly.
The first is our children's funsilent auction, going through
(13:30):
and seeing the baskets that ourmembers put together, the time
and effort that they put intobuilding these baskets, and then
seeing the generosity of ourmembers on bidding on those
baskets. Knowing that all ofthat money is going to support
the children in Idaho is soamazing. I just I am always
flabbergasted at how amazing oureducators are with their
(13:50):
generosity with the Children'sFund. My other favorite part is
our awards presentation, gettingto highlight the amazing work
that our educators around thestate are doing every single day
is just phenomenal. We aseducators are really bad about
tooting our own horns sometimes,and so having the opportunity
for people to nominate othersfor these awards and then
(14:12):
recognizing them and honoringthem is just so inspirational,
and it makes me remember why Iwanted to be an educator. So
those are two of my favoritethings about delegate assembly.
Yeah, the
Mike Journee (14:24):
Children's Fund option is my one of my favorite
parts, too. And I think, I thinkit's the highlight of the
highlights for everybody. As amatter of fact, right now you
are out and about. Mistakevisiting different parts of the
state for what we call mini Das,which are our regional das DA is
that, are that that delegateassemblies, that are that are
held at the regional level, andyou're talking with members
(14:46):
about kind of helping themunderstand what's going to be
coming. You're talking about thebudget, which is a big part of
the of the business that is donein delegate assembly, the
approval of the budget. But tellus a little about about what
you're doing, traveling around,right? It now in advance of the
of our delegate assembly in
Unknown (15:04):
April, sure, so the many das are an opportunity for
our members to come together andget a preview of what's going to
happen at delegate assembly, sothey don't feel blindsided when
they're in the big meeting hallwith 400 other educators from
around the state. So they get todo a little preview of the
budget and of the legislativelegislative guide, as well as
(15:25):
resolutions or any of the otherinformation that we have. It's
an opportunity in a small groupto ask questions and figure out
what they want to do or how toparticipate at delegate
assembly. There are lots ofdifferent opportunities at
delegate assembly to meet up andwork with other educators. And
so the many days also give themthe opportunity to really start
(15:46):
thinking about which caucuses doI want to go to, because on
Friday we have special interestcaucuses, they're all held at
the same time, and so you haveto kind of decide which one is
more beneficial for you toattend. So the many days are it
really is just prep, getting youready for that big delegate
assembly in Boise.
Mike Journee (16:07):
That's great. And we've, we've talked about the
budget, mentioned the budget,that is something I know that
the board works on the budgetthat is brought forward to
delegates so that they canapprove the operating budget for
the the the coming year thatwork is going on. Kind of you're
doing that as as well as part ofthe of the mini DA is right?
Unknown (16:29):
That's right. So the Vice President, John hawks, he
did a video. So you'll all beable to watch the budget video
at your mini da s or it islinked on my NEA 360 so you on
our group site, so you could gothere and watch it as well. We
will have a budget presentationat delegate assembly, and this
is a year where we actuallyapprove two years worth of
budgets. So you'll be presentedwith our audited results for our
(16:53):
last year's budget. You'll seeour current budget, and then
you'll see two out years whereyou get to approve and look at
how we're going to budget andspend the money of the IEA.
Mike Journee (17:04):
That's great and I and that's one of the more
technical aspects, I think, ofthings as far as the operations
go. And John does a great job ofpresenting that budget every
year. One of the kind of thehighlights, I guess you, if you
will, around around the delegateassembly every year is an item.
They're called New Businessitems, or NB eyes and those that
(17:27):
is. That's probably the mostdemocratic part of the work of
the Union. News business items.
Tell us a little bit about whatthose are.
Unknown (17:37):
Yeah. So new business items, they are the ideas that
our members have on what whatdirection we should move as an
association. So, for example,last year, we had a member,
Heidi from Jefferson County,bring a new business item about
a library committee. She saw aneed for our library and members
to have a resource to gettogether and talk and provide
(17:59):
professional development forthem. And so she brought this
new business item to delegateassembly, and we got to debate
it. We got to hear the pros andthe cons. And ultimately, that
new business item passed. And sothroughout this year, the
library committee has beenmeeting and been putting
together resources for otherlibrarians throughout the state.
So the new business items are anopportunity for you, if you have
a an idea or a suggestion thatcould help further the
(18:22):
association to put it down inwriting and then debate it and
talk about the merits of youridea, and then the delegates
will get to vote for it oragainst it, and then if it is
voted in, then we have that nextyear to continue to work on your
idea and hopefully have it besuccessful within the
association. So this year, it'sone of the brand new
(18:45):
opportunities for us. If you area delegate, you can actually
submit a new business itemonline. You can go to
idahoea.org under our Memberssection, the governing
documents, and you can submit anew business item right there.
That's
Mike Journee (19:00):
right, and that's for delegates. You must be a
delegate to present a newbusiness item and and also, you
mentioned previously thatdelegates can have access to an
an online forum for for all thethings da. And so as delegates
get ready, get closer todelegate assembly, they'll be
logging into NEA 360 and thecommunities portion of Nea 360
(19:23):
which which is that that forumfor us and all the documents
will be there and ready to go.
Regular members can also lookinto any 360 and see some of the
see some of the governingdocuments there as well. And if
they go to that governingdocuments page, they can see
directions for how to log intoNEA. 360 we're hoping to make
that a little bit easier forfolks than it has been in years
(19:44):
past. And it looks likehopefully we've hit the right
note with that.
Unknown (19:51):
Just did that. Sorry, just one piece of that delegates
will have access to, thedelegate assembly 2025 site that
has all. The documents ourgeneral membership can join the
IEA membership page that willhave information on there, but
we do have a specific site laidout just for delegates to have
all the delegate information init. Thanks
Mike Journee (20:13):
for that clarification there. That's
right. Thanks for that. So we'vetalked about the budget, we've
talked about new business items,one of the other portions of of
the delegate assembly is, iswhat we call resolutions.
There's a committee that ischarged with kind of basically
drafting the union's veryfundamental principle statements
(20:37):
about a wide variety ofdifferent topics that that
affects the union and affecteducators in the classroom, like
students, families and and and,and that committee will meet the
two days prior to the delegateassembly and bring and then they
will bring forward the theirproposed resolutions to the
committee. Can you talk a littlebit about some of the types of
(20:58):
things that the resolutionscommittee works on, I know that
you're, you're a chairperson ofthat committee for person years
and so, so tell us a little bitabout that committee.
Unknown (21:08):
So the resolutions committee, they come together
and they look at ourresolutions, and our resolutions
are our belief statements.
They're things that we, in aperfect world, would want to
have happen in public education.
So our committee will cometogether, like you said, the two
days before delegate assembly toreview our resolution, see if we
need to update anything, butthen also bring new resolutions
(21:29):
to our guide, because as ourpublic education changes, we
need to make sure that we'reliving up to the best standards
that we can by having our beliefstatements updated. So they'll
be bringing thoserecommendations before the
delegates, but before they bringit to the delegates, you
actually can go to an openhearing on Friday morning to
(21:49):
hear the different proposedchanges that they're bringing.
And then if you have a proposedchange for our resolutions, you
can go to that hearing and youcan present it there, and they
might find your proposalfriendly, and then Greg, our
resolutions chair, would helpyou present that to the
delegates. If you they found itunfriendly, then you would then
have to present it on your ownto try and get the delegates
(22:12):
persuaded to believe what yourbelief statement is saying. So
resolutions really are a guidingdocument for us when we're
lobbying over at thelegislature, not only do we look
at our legislative guide, but wealso look at our resolutions to
make sure that we're living upto the belief statements that
all of our delegates haveapproved year after year. What
Mike Journee (22:32):
would you say to members who might be hesitant to
bring forward an MBI at
Unknown (22:37):
our at this event? What I tell a member is to do it.
It's a very friendly crowd, evenwhen people disagree with you
and they don't see what you'resaying about your new business
item, they're going to berespectful. They're going to
come up and thank you forbringing it, even if they voted
against it. So it really is anopportunity for us to shed light
(23:03):
into different parts of our ourworld that members may not
necessarily know or see becausebeing such a diverse state,
there are different parts of ourstate that have certain things
happening to them that's nothappening in the other parts of
the state, and so bringing newbusiness items that really
reflects what's happening inyour school or your district or
your local other members mightnot see that, but you are
(23:26):
bringing light to it, so thenpeople will be aware and they'll
help you move forward with it.
So while it can be a little bitnerve wracking, standing up in
front of about 400 delegatesbringing your new business item,
just remember that they're allfriendly educators in that room,
and they're excited for you, andthey'll help you through the
process, for sure.
Mike Journee (23:45):
That's great. So you mentioned the legislative
guide as well, and that has beenkind of the third thing that
delegates discuss and bringforward. The legislative guide
is really the guide for thelobby theme, and our members who
come to lobby day, it's theirguide posts, if you will, around
the kind of legislation thatthat IEA members support or do
(24:09):
not support. You talk a littlebit about the process for
developing the ledge guide andwhat happens at delegate
assembly.
Unknown (24:15):
So the government relations political action
committee for education, theymeet regularly, and they look
through our legislative guide,and they bring proposed changes
to the IEA board of directors.
The IEA Board of Directors thenreviews those changes, suggested
changes, and agrees or doesn'tagree with them, and approves
the report to go to delegateassembly. And then, like I said,
(24:37):
Because delegate assembly is thehighest governing body, you all
will get the opportunity toreview the legislative guide and
see the updates that thecommittee brought, and then the
board has brought, and then youall can bring as well. So from
the floor, you can see thedelegate the legislative guide
and decide you want to amend itwith either a new bullet or.
(24:58):
We're just changing verbiage orlanguage in it, but like Mike
said, it is the guiding documentthat we use when we're lobbying,
where we look to see if weshould oppose or support certain
legislation because of what's inour legislative guide
Mike Journee (25:17):
lane. You probably have the most high profile place
at delegate assembly. Youactually run the meeting. You
follow Robert's Rules, andyou're very good at it. It's a
pretty impressive thing. And Iimagine at the end of those two
days, you're exhausted. What doyou prepare for delegate
assembly? When you're gettingready for this and getting ready
to stand up in front of folksand do what you do for those
(25:39):
those two days, a
Unknown (25:42):
lot of the prep work happens during these many days,
hearing what our members need,hearing what our members want,
able to be prepared and knowwhat's coming, really helps. And
so that's the important thingabout traveling around the state
and going to all of thesemeetings, is, while it's taxing,
it's very important for me tolisten to our members, because
we are a member drivenorganization, and we need to do
(26:03):
what our members want. And someeting with them and hearing
what's going on is what's superimportant. A while I am super
tired after delegate assembly isover, it's super invigorating as
well, standing up there andseeing the excitement on all of
our delegate spaces, hearing thepassion behind the debate,
seeing the the willingness tostep forward and move this
(26:25):
association in a direction thatis not only going to benefit
educators, but really benefitour students in Idaho, and so
it's, it's really energizingalso to be up there and help
move this association forward.
Mike Journee (26:39):
That's great. You know, it's been, it's been
politically, it's been achallenging time this winter for
the Idaho Education Associationfor Public Schools in general.
And there's also been quite abit of activity at the at the
national level, around, aroundwith, with the new
administration around educationpolicy, there, can I ask you,
(27:04):
what do you do you feel likethat's going to impact this
delegate assembly with, withwhat members bring forward, what
their perspective is? That kindof thing you've, you've been to
quite a few delegate assembliesin the past, and so I wanted to,
wanted to see if you feel like,how that kind of shakes out in
delegate assembly.
Unknown (27:25):
Yeah, what's happening in the world, in our nation, at
our state, it definitely isgoing to impact what happens at
our delegate assembly. But whatI can tell you about delegate
assembly also is that educatorsare going there, looking out for
what's best for public educationin Idaho. And so ultimately, the
goal is to provide a safe,secure learning environment for
(27:47):
all students and educators aregoing to do the best that they
can. And like I said, in eachpart of the state, it's going to
be different, and so people aregoing to be bringing different
ideas based off of the realitiesthat they're living. And so
yeah, I do see that the realitywe're living right now within
the state and the nation, it isgoing to impact our delegate
assembly. But ultimately, what Ialso know is our delegates are
(28:09):
respectful, thoughtful educatorsthat are really looking out for
what's best for education andour students.
Mike Journee (28:16):
Well, Wayne, thanks for joining me for this
discussion about delegateassembly. Again, we've got a few
weeks coming up. You you'll betraveling around, visiting with
members in different placesaround the state as we get ready
for that. Lots of work happeningright now here at ie
headquarters to get ready forthis. And we're we're out. We
always look forward to it. It'salways one of those events that
really recharges people and and,and, of course, get some
(28:39):
business done too. Thank
Unknown (28:40):
you, Mike. I'm super excited about delegate assembly
and doing the work of theassociation. I can't wait to see
everyone in Boise in a few shortweeks. So thanks again, Mike.
Mike Journee (28:54):
Thank you for listening to this episode of The
IEA reporter podcast, and thanksto IEA president, Lane mcinilly
and IAEA Associate ExecutiveDirector Matt Compton, for
joining us, please watch forupdates about new podcast
episodes on IAEA social mediachannels or sign up to receive
IAEA reported email updates onour website@idahoea.org I'm Mike
(29:16):
Journee, and as always, I hopeyou join me in thanking Idaho's
public school educators foreverything they do for our State
students, families and publicschools, you.
Music. Welcome to the IEA reporter podcast, a
regular discussion about thenews and events important to
Idaho Education Associationmembers and those who value
public education. IEA membersare public school educators from
all over the state and membersof the largest union in Idaho.
They're Idaho's most importanteducation experts, and they use
(00:32):
their influence to fight for afree, quality and equitable
public education for everystudent in the state. I'm Mike
Journee, communications directorDIA and I'll be your host for
this episode. Today, we talk toIAEA President Blaine mcinelli
About IAEA annual delegateassembly, which will be held
April 4 and fifth in Boise thisyear. But first a look at what
(00:55):
happened this week at the Idaholegislature with IAEA Associate
Executive Director Matt Compton.
Matt Compton, thanks for joiningto this quick round up of the
happenings at the state housethis past week, I wanted to talk
quickly about a bill broughtforward by Representative Wendy
(01:17):
hormond out of Idaho Falls. Thisis a bill that changes the the
responsibility for graduationstandards in the state of Idaho,
and takes it out of the hands ofthe the Department of Education
and puts it in the hands of thelegislature. Can you talk a
little bit about House Bill 298,
Matt Compton (01:36):
yeah, yeah.
Absolutely. Like you said, thisis a piece of legislation that
is brought to us byRepresentative Wendy Horman out
of Idaho Falls she's the samerepresentative who brought us
House Bill 93 which was thevoucher legislation the bill
that you're referring to, HouseBill 98 the graduation
requirements are typically donethrough a negotiated rule making
process through the StateDepartment In the State Board of
(01:58):
Education, where experts andpolicy makers and parents can
all get together and talk aboutwhat those requirements ought to
look like for for graduation,what House Bill 298 proposes to
do is actually wrestle that awayfrom the local control or away
from impact for the input fromInterest holders, and puts it in
(02:19):
the the partisan and highlypolitical hands of of lawmakers.
And that's really what the riskis here.
Mike Journee (02:30):
Yeah, that bill has been heard in the house and
House Committee. It was passedout of committee, and it awaits
the full deliberation on theHouse floor that could happen
any day could happen today as amatter of fact, and and then it
would travel over to the Senateside. We'll be keeping a close
eye on that bill, and memberscan can take a look at IEA
reporter on our website and getthe latest on that, Matt.
(02:54):
Another bill we want to talkabout is House Bill 41 a bill
brought forward byRepresentative Ted Hill out of
Eagle. And this legislation isintended to to limit the way
educators display pennants andflags in their classroom. The
impetus, of course, was therainbow flag, the pride flag,
(03:15):
for bringing this forward. Andthe bill has has passed both
houses and it's mended, but itwas mended into sin. So it's
going back to to the house forfinal approval, and then we'll
go to be passed on to thegovernor. Talk a little bit
about about house before you woneven
Matt Compton (03:32):
So Ted hills, a representative out of
legislative district 14, hebrought this legislation last
year, which would prohibit anykind of political flags or
banners in classrooms, becausewhat he says is that they are
they create a disruptiveenvironment through learning,
through debate, it becameevident that the legislation
(03:53):
aimed to prohibit any kind ofdisplay of flags that the
legislature doesn't like. Sowhat the what the Senate did is
asked for the House toexplicitly outline what it is
that is being banned in the billand sent it back to the house
for full adoption. So there's agreat opportunity here for
members or the general public toreach out to lawmakers on House
(04:14):
Bill 41 and just encourage themto vote this down,
Mike Journee (04:20):
another bill that we've been paying attention to
that really has been bottled upis the union busting bill that
we have written about in thepast and have talked about on
this podcast, that bill still isawaiting hearing on the Senate
side. You're
Matt Compton (04:33):
right it. We haven't heard much of the union
busting bill. That's House Bill98 but what Chris and I have
seen at the capitol is that thenumber of lobbyists, the out of
state lobbyists who are workingon this legislation, continue to
grow. I think at this point wehave six or seven lobbyists from
different firms who are workingon this legislation to try to
interfere with the unionactivities on school property.
(04:56):
So this is definitely somethingthat we're keeping an eye on,
because this would. Be a realissue for our members if it were
to pass.
Mike Journee (05:05):
There's a lot of pressure, lot of pressure on
folks similar to what we sawwith the voucher legislation, a
lot of lobbyist pressure onlawmakers to to pass this bill.
Again, we've got some we've gotsome stalwart folks who
understand the value that thisunion has in public schools and
but that's not the only billthat's been been targeting
unions. There's another bill outthere targeting the collective
(05:27):
bargaining rights offirefighters. So there's
definitely an anti unionsentiment in this legislature.
Matt Compton (05:33):
That's absolutely true.
Mike Journee (05:36):
Lastly, Matt, just want to bring up this time of
the session, we start talkingabout budget bills. Now that the
committees have been working ontheir policy, those policies are
now being funded through budgetbills. One of those budget bills
that I want to bring up, ofcourse, we have education
funding, education fundingbills, and that's a different
process this year than it hasbeen passed. So I ask you to
talk about that, but we also Iwant to ask you quickly about
(05:58):
what you're hearing. Where thepay rate bills for state
employees, including educators,sits.
Matt Compton (06:04):
Yeah, really good question. This is a really
squirrely part of thelegislative session when budget
bills began begin being used aspolitical pawns, or exchanged
between the House and theSenate, determining on that,
determining what other pieces oflegislation they're trying to
leverage for passage. So budgetbills are always the last bills
(06:27):
to make their way through thelegislative session because
lawmakers are trying to figureout how much money to put in a
particular line item, or they'rejockeying for additional
resources for other pieces oflegislation. Now, what we are
hearing from the legislatureright now is that jfac is being
held up on these budget billsbecause the proponents from
House Bill 93 which was thevoucher legislation that just
(06:50):
passed, are now trying to diginto this year's legislation to
find an additional $50 millionfor next year's appropriations,
so that effectively would doublefrom $50 million for the tax
credit voucher to $100 millionso that's what we're seeing at
the legislature play out, andthat's that's why we're asking
for folks to be so diligentthrough the the end of this
(07:15):
session as as lawmakers reallytried to reinforce their win
that they got on House Bill 93for their voucher this year.
Mike Journee (07:26):
So we knew, we knew about the proponents were
going to be digging in andtrying to get more money for
that bill, but we had no ideathat it was going to going to
happen before, before the gavelat the end of the session.
That's pretty phenomenal, thatthey're already digging in and
trying to find more money forthat bill.
Matt Compton (07:41):
That's absolutely true there. There are a number
of tax like income tax breaks ordifferent types of property tax
breaks that the legislature istrying to give back to taxpayers
this year, but they're lookingat ways to how do they how do
they minimize those returns totaxpayers by pulling an
additional 50 million for nextyear. So yeah, this, this is
(08:04):
look like it's going to costtaxpayers a significant amount
of money going into year overyear, for education budgets, for
to fund House Bill 93 which wasthat much the voucher bill,
Mike Journee (08:17):
the voucher bill that 1000s upon 1000s of
Idahoans called into thelegislature, into the governor's
office to encourage them toreject and unfortunately,
Governor little signed the billa little over a week ago. So
Matt, what are you hearing aboutthe pay raise bill for state
employees, which would includeeducators?
Matt Compton (08:37):
Yep, that bill is making its way through the
process. It will be one that wehear, probably likely on the
House floor or midweek nextweek, late next week, it will be
one of the later bills that willthat will be heard in the house
again, using it as one of thesepolitical pawns or exchange, or
some folks call hostages thatfor an exchanging for other
(08:59):
legislation. So we'll becontinue to following the
educator pay bill through theprocess, but we're not seeing
any real blockades for thatright now.
Mike Journee (09:09):
That's great to hear Politics does play odd
games at the end of the session,but it's good to hear that so
far, the road goes clear forthat bill. Matt, thanks again
for joining us and talking aboutwhat's happening at the
legislature this week.
(09:30):
Next up on the IAEA reporterpodcast, a discussion with IAEA
president, Lane Micheal, aboutIEA annual delegate assembly,
the highest governing body ofIdaho's largest union. This
year, Delegate assembly will beheld April 4 and fifth in Boise
lane. Micheal, thanks forjoining us for another episode
of the IEA reporter podcast.
We're talking today about thedelegate assembly. Our delegate
(09:55):
assembly is coming up early nextmonth, and. But we want to just
talk about the delegate assemblyits place in the union and what
purpose it serves.
Unknown (10:05):
Thanks, Mike, so the delegate assembly is the highest
governing body of ourassociation. It's where members
get to come together and decidehow we should move forward with
the Association for the nextyear. That's through doing new
business items, through thelegislative guide, through
resolutions, through alldifferent ways the members get
(10:26):
to decide what direction we wantto move as an association.
Mike Journee (10:30):
But we talk a lot about ies democratic nature.
This is really kind of where therubber meets the road, as far as
that goes, right? I mean, it'swhere rank and file members or I
guess these are probably moreengaged members than most
members, but it's where membershave their voice and can really
guide the direction of theirunion.
Unknown (10:50):
It really is. It's an opportunity for all voices to be
heard in the room. Every memberhas the chance to stand up and
speak for or against any item,and voice their concerns and
voice how they fill it shouldhappen in their local, in their
building, in their classroom,every voice, like I said, has a
voice in that room.
Mike Journee (11:12):
That's right.
Well, how are delegates to thedelegate assembly? Select each
local
Unknown (11:17):
holds elections. So if you ever want to go to go to
delegate assembly like nextyear, you would submit your name
to the local President or theelections chair within your
local and tell them that you'reinterested in running for
delegate assembly and your localshould have an election, and you
would be elected to attend andrepresent your local at delegate
assembly.
Mike Journee (11:39):
And each local has a certain amount of seats that
they're afforded based upon thesize of their local. And one
isn't that correct?
Unknown (11:47):
That is correct. Every local is guaranteed one
delegate, but then it goes upper membership. So as your
membership grows, you have moreopportunities to have delegates
attend delegate assembly, and
Mike Journee (12:00):
we'll talk a little bit about new business
items and resolutions and in thelegislative guide here in a
minute, but, but before we getto that. And of course, the
budget is part of this processtoo, but the delegate assembly
isn't all business. This eventis, is one of the ways that
really, most our most engagedmembers can connect with one
another. Da is also aboutcamaraderie, isn't it?
Unknown (12:24):
It really is. It's about an opportunity for
educators from around the stateto get together and discuss
education topics that is goingon in their local brainstorm,
bounce ideas off of each other,and then make a new friend, be
able to contact them throughoutthe year and say they have a
question or they have a concernand bounce an idea off of them.
(12:45):
And so it's a great way to makeconnections from all over the
state with educators that get todo the same job that you do,
just in a different location.
Mike Journee (12:56):
So lane, first, I got two questions for you.
First, how many das had youattended and then, and what is
your favorite part of the event?
Unknown (13:07):
So I think this will be my 16th da that I've attended.
So I've been doing it for awhile. I've been in state
leadership since 2014 withDelegate assembly. So it's been,
it's been a while since I'vebeen doing this. So my favorite
part, I'm going to say there aretwo things that I really, really
enjoy about delegate assembly.
The first is our children's funsilent auction, going through
(13:30):
and seeing the baskets that ourmembers put together, the time
and effort that they put intobuilding these baskets, and then
seeing the generosity of ourmembers on bidding on those
baskets. Knowing that all ofthat money is going to support
the children in Idaho is soamazing. I just I am always
flabbergasted at how amazing oureducators are with their
(13:50):
generosity with the Children'sFund. My other favorite part is
our awards presentation, gettingto highlight the amazing work
that our educators around thestate are doing every single day
is just phenomenal. We aseducators are really bad about
tooting our own horns sometimes,and so having the opportunity
for people to nominate othersfor these awards and then
(14:12):
recognizing them and honoringthem is just so inspirational,
and it makes me remember why Iwanted to be an educator. So
those are two of my favoritethings about delegate assembly.
Yeah, the
Mike Journee (14:24):
Children's Fund option is my one of my favorite
parts, too. And I think, I thinkit's the highlight of the
highlights for everybody. As amatter of fact, right now you
are out and about. Mistakevisiting different parts of the
state for what we call mini Das,which are our regional das DA is
that, are that that delegateassemblies, that are that are
held at the regional level, andyou're talking with members
(14:46):
about kind of helping themunderstand what's going to be
coming. You're talking about thebudget, which is a big part of
the of the business that is donein delegate assembly, the
approval of the budget. But tellus a little about about what
you're doing, traveling around,right? It now in advance of the
of our delegate assembly in
Unknown (15:04):
April, sure, so the many das are an opportunity for
our members to come together andget a preview of what's going to
happen at delegate assembly, sothey don't feel blindsided when
they're in the big meeting hallwith 400 other educators from
around the state. So they get todo a little preview of the
budget and of the legislativelegislative guide, as well as
(15:25):
resolutions or any of the otherinformation that we have. It's
an opportunity in a small groupto ask questions and figure out
what they want to do or how toparticipate at delegate
assembly. There are lots ofdifferent opportunities at
delegate assembly to meet up andwork with other educators. And
so the many days also give themthe opportunity to really start
(15:46):
thinking about which caucuses doI want to go to, because on
Friday we have special interestcaucuses, they're all held at
the same time, and so you haveto kind of decide which one is
more beneficial for you toattend. So the many days are it
really is just prep, getting youready for that big delegate
assembly in Boise.
Mike Journee (16:07):
That's great. And we've, we've talked about the
budget, mentioned the budget,that is something I know that
the board works on the budgetthat is brought forward to
delegates so that they canapprove the operating budget for
the the the coming year thatwork is going on. Kind of you're
doing that as as well as part ofthe of the mini DA is right?
Unknown (16:29):
That's right. So the Vice President, John hawks, he
did a video. So you'll all beable to watch the budget video
at your mini da s or it islinked on my NEA 360 so you on
our group site, so you could gothere and watch it as well. We
will have a budget presentationat delegate assembly, and this
is a year where we actuallyapprove two years worth of
budgets. So you'll be presentedwith our audited results for our
(16:53):
last year's budget. You'll seeour current budget, and then
you'll see two out years whereyou get to approve and look at
how we're going to budget andspend the money of the IEA.
Mike Journee (17:04):
That's great and I and that's one of the more
technical aspects, I think, ofthings as far as the operations
go. And John does a great job ofpresenting that budget every
year. One of the kind of thehighlights, I guess you, if you
will, around around the delegateassembly every year is an item.
They're called New Businessitems, or NB eyes and those that
(17:27):
is. That's probably the mostdemocratic part of the work of
the Union. News business items.
Tell us a little bit about whatthose are.
Unknown (17:37):
Yeah. So new business items, they are the ideas that
our members have on what whatdirection we should move as an
association. So, for example,last year, we had a member,
Heidi from Jefferson County,bring a new business item about
a library committee. She saw aneed for our library and members
to have a resource to gettogether and talk and provide
(17:59):
professional development forthem. And so she brought this
new business item to delegateassembly, and we got to debate
it. We got to hear the pros andthe cons. And ultimately, that
new business item passed. And sothroughout this year, the
library committee has beenmeeting and been putting
together resources for otherlibrarians throughout the state.
So the new business items are anopportunity for you, if you have
a an idea or a suggestion thatcould help further the
(18:22):
association to put it down inwriting and then debate it and
talk about the merits of youridea, and then the delegates
will get to vote for it oragainst it, and then if it is
voted in, then we have that nextyear to continue to work on your
idea and hopefully have it besuccessful within the
association. So this year, it'sone of the brand new
(18:45):
opportunities for us. If you area delegate, you can actually
submit a new business itemonline. You can go to
idahoea.org under our Memberssection, the governing
documents, and you can submit anew business item right there.
That's
Mike Journee (19:00):
right, and that's for delegates. You must be a
delegate to present a newbusiness item and and also, you
mentioned previously thatdelegates can have access to an
an online forum for for all thethings da. And so as delegates
get ready, get closer todelegate assembly, they'll be
logging into NEA 360 and thecommunities portion of Nea 360
(19:23):
which which is that that forumfor us and all the documents
will be there and ready to go.
Regular members can also lookinto any 360 and see some of the
see some of the governingdocuments there as well. And if
they go to that governingdocuments page, they can see
directions for how to log intoNEA. 360 we're hoping to make
that a little bit easier forfolks than it has been in years
(19:44):
past. And it looks likehopefully we've hit the right
note with that.
Unknown (19:51):
Just did that. Sorry, just one piece of that delegates
will have access to, thedelegate assembly 2025 site that
has all. The documents ourgeneral membership can join the
IEA membership page that willhave information on there, but
we do have a specific site laidout just for delegates to have
all the delegate information init. Thanks
Mike Journee (20:13):
for that clarification there. That's
right. Thanks for that. So we'vetalked about the budget, we've
talked about new business items,one of the other portions of of
the delegate assembly is, iswhat we call resolutions.
There's a committee that ischarged with kind of basically
drafting the union's veryfundamental principle statements
(20:37):
about a wide variety ofdifferent topics that that
affects the union and affecteducators in the classroom, like
students, families and and and,and that committee will meet the
two days prior to the delegateassembly and bring and then they
will bring forward the theirproposed resolutions to the
committee. Can you talk a littlebit about some of the types of
(20:58):
things that the resolutionscommittee works on, I know that
you're, you're a chairperson ofthat committee for person years
and so, so tell us a little bitabout that committee.
Unknown (21:08):
So the resolutions committee, they come together
and they look at ourresolutions, and our resolutions
are our belief statements.
They're things that we, in aperfect world, would want to
have happen in public education.
So our committee will cometogether, like you said, the two
days before delegate assembly toreview our resolution, see if we
need to update anything, butthen also bring new resolutions
(21:29):
to our guide, because as ourpublic education changes, we
need to make sure that we'reliving up to the best standards
that we can by having our beliefstatements updated. So they'll
be bringing thoserecommendations before the
delegates, but before they bringit to the delegates, you
actually can go to an openhearing on Friday morning to
(21:49):
hear the different proposedchanges that they're bringing.
And then if you have a proposedchange for our resolutions, you
can go to that hearing and youcan present it there, and they
might find your proposalfriendly, and then Greg, our
resolutions chair, would helpyou present that to the
delegates. If you they found itunfriendly, then you would then
have to present it on your ownto try and get the delegates
(22:12):
persuaded to believe what yourbelief statement is saying. So
resolutions really are a guidingdocument for us when we're
lobbying over at thelegislature, not only do we look
at our legislative guide, but wealso look at our resolutions to
make sure that we're living upto the belief statements that
all of our delegates haveapproved year after year. What
Mike Journee (22:32):
would you say to members who might be hesitant to
bring forward an MBI at
Unknown (22:37):
our at this event? What I tell a member is to do it.
It's a very friendly crowd, evenwhen people disagree with you
and they don't see what you'resaying about your new business
item, they're going to berespectful. They're going to
come up and thank you forbringing it, even if they voted
against it. So it really is anopportunity for us to shed light
(23:03):
into different parts of our ourworld that members may not
necessarily know or see becausebeing such a diverse state,
there are different parts of ourstate that have certain things
happening to them that's nothappening in the other parts of
the state, and so bringing newbusiness items that really
reflects what's happening inyour school or your district or
your local other members mightnot see that, but you are
(23:26):
bringing light to it, so thenpeople will be aware and they'll
help you move forward with it.
So while it can be a little bitnerve wracking, standing up in
front of about 400 delegatesbringing your new business item,
just remember that they're allfriendly educators in that room,
and they're excited for you, andthey'll help you through the
process, for sure.
Mike Journee (23:45):
That's great. So you mentioned the legislative
guide as well, and that has beenkind of the third thing that
delegates discuss and bringforward. The legislative guide
is really the guide for thelobby theme, and our members who
come to lobby day, it's theirguide posts, if you will, around
the kind of legislation thatthat IEA members support or do
(24:09):
not support. You talk a littlebit about the process for
developing the ledge guide andwhat happens at delegate
assembly.
Unknown (24:15):
So the government relations political action
committee for education, theymeet regularly, and they look
through our legislative guide,and they bring proposed changes
to the IEA board of directors.
The IEA Board of Directors thenreviews those changes, suggested
changes, and agrees or doesn'tagree with them, and approves
the report to go to delegateassembly. And then, like I said,
(24:37):
Because delegate assembly is thehighest governing body, you all
will get the opportunity toreview the legislative guide and
see the updates that thecommittee brought, and then the
board has brought, and then youall can bring as well. So from
the floor, you can see thedelegate the legislative guide
and decide you want to amend itwith either a new bullet or.
(24:58):
We're just changing verbiage orlanguage in it, but like Mike
said, it is the guiding documentthat we use when we're lobbying,
where we look to see if weshould oppose or support certain
legislation because of what's inour legislative guide
Mike Journee (25:17):
lane. You probably have the most high profile place
at delegate assembly. Youactually run the meeting. You
follow Robert's Rules, andyou're very good at it. It's a
pretty impressive thing. And Iimagine at the end of those two
days, you're exhausted. What doyou prepare for delegate
assembly? When you're gettingready for this and getting ready
to stand up in front of folksand do what you do for those
(25:39):
those two days, a
Unknown (25:42):
lot of the prep work happens during these many days,
hearing what our members need,hearing what our members want,
able to be prepared and knowwhat's coming, really helps. And
so that's the important thingabout traveling around the state
and going to all of thesemeetings, is, while it's taxing,
it's very important for me tolisten to our members, because
we are a member drivenorganization, and we need to do
(26:03):
what our members want. And someeting with them and hearing
what's going on is what's superimportant. A while I am super
tired after delegate assembly isover, it's super invigorating as
well, standing up there andseeing the excitement on all of
our delegate spaces, hearing thepassion behind the debate,
seeing the the willingness tostep forward and move this
(26:25):
association in a direction thatis not only going to benefit
educators, but really benefitour students in Idaho, and so
it's, it's really energizingalso to be up there and help
move this association forward.
Mike Journee (26:39):
That's great. You know, it's been, it's been
politically, it's been achallenging time this winter for
the Idaho Education Associationfor Public Schools in general.
And there's also been quite abit of activity at the at the
national level, around, aroundwith, with the new
administration around educationpolicy, there, can I ask you,
(27:04):
what do you do you feel likethat's going to impact this
delegate assembly with, withwhat members bring forward, what
their perspective is? That kindof thing you've, you've been to
quite a few delegate assembliesin the past, and so I wanted to,
wanted to see if you feel like,how that kind of shakes out in
delegate assembly.
Unknown (27:25):
Yeah, what's happening in the world, in our nation, at
our state, it definitely isgoing to impact what happens at
our delegate assembly. But whatI can tell you about delegate
assembly also is that educatorsare going there, looking out for
what's best for public educationin Idaho. And so ultimately, the
goal is to provide a safe,secure learning environment for
(27:47):
all students and educators aregoing to do the best that they
can. And like I said, in eachpart of the state, it's going to
be different, and so people aregoing to be bringing different
ideas based off of the realitiesthat they're living. And so
yeah, I do see that the realitywe're living right now within
the state and the nation, it isgoing to impact our delegate
assembly. But ultimately, what Ialso know is our delegates are
(28:09):
respectful, thoughtful educatorsthat are really looking out for
what's best for education andour students.
Mike Journee (28:16):
Well, Wayne, thanks for joining me for this
discussion about delegateassembly. Again, we've got a few
weeks coming up. You you'll betraveling around, visiting with
members in different placesaround the state as we get ready
for that. Lots of work happeningright now here at ie
headquarters to get ready forthis. And we're we're out. We
always look forward to it. It'salways one of those events that
really recharges people and and,and, of course, get some
(28:39):
business done too. Thank
Unknown (28:40):
you, Mike. I'm super excited about delegate assembly
and doing the work of theassociation. I can't wait to see
everyone in Boise in a few shortweeks. So thanks again, Mike.
Mike Journee (28:54):
Thank you for listening to this episode of The
IEA reporter podcast, and thanksto IEA president, Lane mcinilly
and IAEA Associate ExecutiveDirector Matt Compton, for
joining us, please watch forupdates about new podcast
episodes on IAEA social mediachannels or sign up to receive
IAEA reported email updates onour website@idahoea.org I'm Mike
(29:16):
Journee, and as always, I hopeyou join me in thanking Idaho's
public school educators foreverything they do for our State
students, families and publicschools, you.
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I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com