The 2015 Legislature has left the Statehouse, but Teresa Luna is still at the Department of Administration.
The former director is working as a “program specialist” for the department, at her old salary of $95,202 per year, Betsy Russell of the Spokane Spokesman-Review reported Monday.
The news comes a month after Gov. Butch Otter announced Luna would be stepping down from the director’s position at the end of the 2015 session. The Legislature adjourned on April 11.
The Otter news release did not necessarily say Luna would be leaving the department — only that she would resign from the director’s position. The director’s spot has been filled internally, on at least an interim basis, with Keith Reynolds promoted to the post. Luna will stay on through the transition of hiring a permanent director, department spokeswoman Jennifer Pike told Russell.
As Administration Department head, Luna was at the center of the Idaho Education Network broadband project fiasco. Luna infuriated lawmakers by keeping them in the dark when a federal agency pulled the plug on network funding, and Luna renewed the project contract without informing lawmakers. The contract has since been voided in District Court in Ada County.
The 2015 Legislature stripped the broadband project from the Administration Department. As districts have signed short-term contracts to replace state-provided broadband, the State Department of Education has been put in charge of reimbursing districts.
