Idaho
News, analysis, and opinion about K-12 education in Idaho
School & District Management
Idaho’s State Board Gets Stern Lesson in Financing Issues
In the past month, for example, Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter gave the eight-member panel a sharp rap on the knuckles—twice—for financial slip-ups.
States
State of the States
Education Is Called Top Budget Priority in Idaho Governor’s Maiden Address
In his inaugural State of the State address on Jan. 8, Idaho Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter called education the highest budget priority in a year when the state has a new governor, a new speaker of the House, and a new state superintendent.
Teaching Profession
Bonuses Prompt Backlash in Idaho
Idaho's outgoing state Superintendent Marilyn Howard awarded a total of $120,098 in merit bonuses to 135 members of her 140-person staff—$960 for each full-time employee, a bit less for the part-timers. But the bonuses have left some state officials smarting over the timing.
Law & Courts
Funding Advocates Accuse Idaho’s High Court Of ‘Cop-Out’
After 16 years of litigation over how to pay for school facilities in Idaho, the only certainty in the case is uncertainty.
College & Workforce Readiness
State of the States
Increase in Funding Proposed for Schools
Gov. Dirk Kempthorne of Idaho is proposing to spend for the first time in state history, more than $1 billion on public schools in fiscal 2007. He made the announcement Jan. 9 in his eighth and final State of the State Address.
College & Workforce Readiness
State of the States
Efficiency in Spending is Governor's Goal
Gov. Mitch Daniels of Indiana promoted his Dollars to the Classroom proposal in his State of the State Address on Jan. 11.
Assessment
Idaho Studies Minimum GPA for High School Admission
Simply completing the 8th grade might not be enough to make it to high school in Idaho.
Education Funding
Foundation Trains Laser-Beam Focus on Idaho Education
Idaho's education landscape has changed dramatically in the past six years, thanks to the beneficence of a philanthropy that has dedicated its resources to improving schooling in the state. Includes a table, "Major Albertson Initiatives," and a resource list, "Charity Begins at Home."
States
Idaho Board Trumps State Ed. Agency on Use of Federal Aid
For the fist time in nearly four decades, the Idaho board of education will control all K-12 funding that comes to the state from the federal government, following a controversial measure passed by the legislature.
School & District Management
Idaho: A Patchwork Funding Quilt With Lots of Holes
The budget crunch in rural Idaho schools isn't just something lawmakers banter about 200 miles away in the Statehouse in Boise. It's a real, dollar-by-dollar fight for schools' lives. Part two in a series.
Education
Legislative Update
The following is a summary of states' final school budgets for fiscal 2000 and highlights of education-related action in legislatures. The totals for K-12 education include money for state education administration, but do not include federal, flow-through dollars.
Education
Arizona Governor Pledges To Improve Education Quality
Declaring education her "top priority," Arizona Gov. Jane Dee Hull called on legislators last week to support a budget that sends more money to the state's schools.
Education
N.J. Governor Eyes Options for Interdistrict Choice, Tenure
Guaranteeing lively debate in the coming months, New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman took strong aim last week at principals' tenure and advocated a plan to let children attend school across district lines.
Education
Idaho's New Schools Chief Battered by Controversies
When Anne Fox was elected Idaho's state schools superintendent last
fall on a back-to-basics platform, State Sen. John Hansen hoped his
G.O.P. colleague "would surround herself with the best and the
brightest staffers, and get the [education] department operating like a
Swiss watch."