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Eye On Boise

Bill to move school board elections to November clears Senate panel on party-line vote

Sen. Mary Souza, R-Coeur d’Alene (Betsy Z. Russell / The Spokesman-Review)
Sen. Mary Souza, R-Coeur d’Alene (Betsy Z. Russell / The Spokesman-Review)

Education would improve in Idaho if the state moved its school board elections from May to November, Coeur d’Alene Sen. Mary Souza told a Senate committee this morning, to give them more visibility and draw more voter participation.

“The motivation for this now three-year effort to move the date is to increase voter turnout, and that is really important,” Souza told the Senate State Affairs Committee. Souza said parent, family and community involvement in schools “correlates with higher academic performance and school improvement.”

The committee voted along party lines to pass Souza’s bill, SB 1280, and send it to the full Senate with a recommendation that it “do pass.” You can read my full story here at spokesman.com.



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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