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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Eye On Boise

State report on teacher leadership premiums fraught with math errors

A report tracking $16.7 million in teacher “leadership premiums,” compiled by the State Department of Education and presented to two legislative committees, is fraught with math errors, reports Idaho Education News. The report came under some harsh scrutiny in the House Education Committee Thursday morning. A State Department of Education official acknowledged the errors in the report, but said it was impractical to double-check the schools’ math.

The report was unveiled a week ago. Since then, Idaho Education News has analyzed the data, and found a multitude of mathematical errors and omissions. In numerous other cases, the report’s math simply doesn’t add up. For example, the West Jefferson School District reported an average premium of $847.55, a maximum of $1,007.48 and a minimum of $850. This is mathematically impossible, writes EdNews reporter Kevin Richert; you can read his full report here.



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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