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Eye On Boise

Women’s Commission planning last meeting

Members of the Idaho Women's Commission plan for their last meeting, after the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee eliminated their funding on Monday. From left are director Kitty Kunz, and commissioners Dawn Shepherd of Riggins, Sonna Lynn Fernandez of Nampa, and Fran Dingel of boise. (Betsy Russell / The Spokesman-Review)
Members of the Idaho Women's Commission plan for their last meeting, after the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee eliminated their funding on Monday. From left are director Kitty Kunz, and commissioners Dawn Shepherd of Riggins, Sonna Lynn Fernandez of Nampa, and Fran Dingel of boise. (Betsy Russell / The Spokesman-Review)

"It's so disappointing" said several members of the Idaho Women's Commission, who gathered with Director Kitty Kunz in the Capitol Annex hallway after JFAC voted 15-5 to eliminate their funding and staffing. They were talking about scheduling their final meeting, and whether they had enough money left to meet in person or should go with a conference call. "We'll still be a commission unless they take us off the state code," Kunz said. "But at this point, we will not be a fully functioning commission after July." She disputed that the commission's efforts duplicated those of other organizations or agencies. "I think we try to complement, but don't duplicate," she said. The commission now has 10 members. Kunz noted that the commission has only a tiny budget. "There's not much to cut - we've been using grants to publish our book." She added, "It's a year when the budget is down, so it gives them a good excuse to go ahead and cut it." This year, the commission received just under $30,000 in state funding.



Betsy Z. Russell
Betsy Z. Russell joined The Spokesman-Review in 1991. She currently is a reporter in the Boise Bureau covering Idaho state government and politics, and other news from Idaho's state capital.

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