"Let me make it clear - I do not want to cut education funding," state Superintendent of Schools Tom Luna told JFAC this morning. "I didn't run for this office to cut funding on public education." Nevertheless, he said, "As superintendent, I will outline prudent…
Legislative budget analyst Paul Headlee started things off by reviewing the budget. "The public schools request was a 5.4 percent increase, and the governor's recommendation is a 5.3 percent decrease, so that really indicates how fast the financial situation has changed," Headlee told the Joint…
This morning is the budget hearing on public schools - the single largest piece of the state budget, and the area where controversial, unprecedented cuts are proposed next year. Gov. Butch Otter, in his budget proposal, called for cutting about $75 million, 5.34 percent, but…
Idaho Public Television was braced for extra costs of $9,000 a month if federal authorities delayed the digital TV changeover, and no source for the funds - and then the U.S. House voted Wednesday to reject the delay. "I suspect it is not the final…
A rule favored by the mining industry to allow groundwater pollution to remain after mining activity has won the approval of both the House Environment Committee and the Senate Health & Welfare Committee, while a rule opposed by Realtors that would have stiffened septic system…
Rep. Steven Thayn's bill to pay Idaho parents for not sending their children to public kindergarten, HB 25, has been dumped unceremoniously into the House Ways & Means Committee, where it's unlikely to get a hearing. House Speaker Lawerence Denney said he made the move…
Three hours into a second day of hearings, the House Health & Welfare Committee is still hearing difficult and wrenching stories about the impact on disabled kids and others when their treatment is reduced or cut off. This as the panel has before it rules…
The Senate Democratic Caucus met today and elected Sen. Kate Kelly, D-Boise, as minority leader, Sen. Elliot Werk, D-Boise, as assistant minority leader and Sen. Les Bock, D-Boise, as minority caucus chair. Kelly had been serving as acting minority leader while Minority Leader Clint Stennett,…
New Lt. Gov. Brad Little said last week on statewide TV that state legislators don't typically collect campaign donations during the legislative session, a practice some lawmakers are discussing banning, as many states do. He said such fundraising is frowned upon. But now Little himself…
Under the reorganization plan being pushed by Gov. Butch Otter and endorsed this week by the state Board of Education, various duties the board has had will be siphoned off to an array of other agencies, freeing the board to focus on policy. Among the…
North Idaho College, which had its budget hearing before JFAC this morning, had been hoping for $605,100 next year to start up a much-needed dental hygienist program in partnership with a local free clinic, and $334,500 for the first year of a two-year campus technology…
The Senate State Affairs Committee has voted unanimously, with no dissent and no discussion, to endorse HCR 6, the measure that earlier unanimously passed the House to reject any raises for lawmakers this year. "This is not something that I relish doing, although I think…
The Senate Health & Welfare Committee has voted unanimously to repeal Idaho's naturopath licensing law, which has gotten bogged down in conflict between two competing groups of naturopaths who differed on suitable qualifications. The licensing law lets licensed naturopaths write prescriptions and perform minor surgery.…
When economic times are bad, many who wouldn't otherwise head back to school, seeking new job skills or new careers. "Enrollment is up," North Idaho College Vice President John Martin told the Senate Education Committee this afternoon. "It's not surprising - when the economy is…
Small businesses whose personal property would be exempt from taxation under legislation that passed last year would be freed from having to file inventories of that property, under legislation introduced today. The Associated Press reports that the new bill from Rep. Leon Smith, R-Twin Falls,…
It's something of a mob scene in the Capitol Annex today, as school trustees from across the state hold their "day on the hill" to talk with legislators. Larry Brown, right, chairman of the Lakeland School District board, said, "We're wrangling for schools. ... We're…
Rep. Maxine Bell, R-Jerome, co-chairwoman of the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee, had this response to Rep. Cliff Bayer's earlier question about whether it's time to cut faculty salaries at Idaho's state colleges and universities. "For one thing, that isn't our place to begin with - we…
Rep. Cliff Bayer, R-Boise, just asked Mike Rush, director of the Office of the State Board of Education, if perhaps faculty salaries were a place to cut at universities. "Do you sense any flexibility or any interest in addressing, if push comes to shove, faculty…
Sen. Jim Hammond, R-Post Falls, asked Idaho State University President Arthur Vailas if perhaps he should consider charging differential tuition - higher for high-cost programs, perhaps, that also set students up to earn big incomes once they've completed them. "Perhaps we should look at some…
Here’s how far budget cuts are going at Boise State University, BSU President Bob Kustra told legislative budget writers this morning: “We’ve re-examined how often our wastebaskets need to be emptied - you name it and we’ve tried to figure out ways to reduce expenditures.”…
“We’re very excited about a number, and there aren’t many good numbers to get excited about these days,” BSU President Bob Kustra told legislative budget writers this morning. So far, in the third quarter of this fiscal year, he said, research grants at Boise State…
Thanks to a public records request filed by Idaho Statesman reporter Dan Popkey, we now know what the missing words from Gov. Butch Otter’s State of the State message were, that he had removed in his final draft. Popkey reported in the Idaho Statesman today…
The state Board of Education met today and voted to back an increase in WWAMI medical school seats for Idaho from 20 to 40, at a rate of increase of 10 a year. WWAMI is a collaboration that allows students from Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and…
The Twin Falls Times-News reports that a fight may be brewing over the startup of the Idaho Education Network, a $50 million statewide broadband network to serve local schools. Lawmakers unanimously approved the concept last year, but haven't yet approved funding, but state Department of…
House Transportation Committee members are still weighing the findings of the big performance audit of the Idaho Transportation Department, and how to respond to them. "If we all agree that ITD needs more money, there's no way we can put off doing that," Rep. Scott…
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