It appears that Idaho teachers who earned a bonus under the state's Student Come First program may receive them regardless of how a referendum vote is decided on Nov. 6, according to a story in the Spokesman-Review.

The issue of merit pay bonuses has been tossed back and forth by supporters and proponents of the program with one side saying the teachers should receive the money regardless of the vote because it has been appropriated and earned, the other saying that if the merit pay idea is rejected by voters, the bonuses can't be paid out because the law authorizing them has been negated by the referendum.

Ben Ysursa, secretary of state, says in the story that since the board of canvassers (which certifies election results) will meet after Nov. 15, the last date the bonuses were to be paid, it is a moot point. "I think everybody was wondering that," he said about payment of the bonuses. "We would prepare this proclamation for the governor to sign (on Nov. 21), and it's prepared for the same day." Which, according the story, means that bonuses will be paid to the teachers who earned them.