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Our View: For Idaho schools, it’s raining now: Idaho schools face a downpour right now. And Tom Luna still wants to save for a rainy day/Idaho Statesman.
More Info: The state’s school superintendent would rather keep $114 million socked away in a savings account to protect public school funding - someday. He would rather condemn Idaho schools to historic budget cuts. He would prefer to move full steam ahead on $62 million in education cuts - including a plan to reduce school staff salaries by the equivalent of three school days, and a change in a busing reimbursement that would cost Boise schools $1.45 million.
Question: Should Superintendent of Schools Tom Luna tap the state’s large rainy day fund to prevent deep cuts in public school funding?
D.F. Oliveria is a columnist and blogger for The Spokesman-Review. Huckleberries Online was judged the best 2008 Idaho newspaper blog by the Idaho Press Club. And the best 2007 news blog in the Pacific Northwest by the Society for Professional Journalist. Print Huckleberries is a past winner of the Herb Caen Memorial Column contest by the National Association of Newspaper Columnists. The Readership Institute of Northwestern University cited this blog as a good example of online community journalism.
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Aliasjax on March 03 at 11:05 a.m.
Withholding the rainy day funds may force much needed reform…it may be a bitter pill, but worth the pain.
Arch_Druid on March 03 at 11:35 a.m.
I’ll gently disagree, reforms cost money, Aliasjax. I notice that the emphasis is on public schools. How about public funded charter schools? How about people who home school and want a tax redistribution that favors them? Yes, or no? How about the people who want tax redistribution for private schools? Yes, or no?
Next question is, do the GOP want the kids in this state to be educationally competitive or not? Cut backs on education won’t guarantee any of that.
Arpie on March 03 at 11:44 a.m.
I think the Statesman nails it.
Ajax, which reforms do you favor in the current cuts? Eliminating field trips? Eliminating three days from the calendar for teachers to improve their skills? please look at the proposal and find some specific reforms that you support.
idawa on March 03 at 11:53 a.m.
seems Mr. Luna and the Obama’s Chief of Staff are on the same page, never let a crisis go unused. A lot of conservatives want to use the economic crisis to gut government and end the public education tyranny, demonize unions, anon anon… Is Luna in this camp? Did you elect a public education hater to lead public education? Or is he, merely, being fiscally responsible?
Frum Helen Back on March 03 at 1:33 p.m.
I thought this was a rainy day situation. If not, what is?
Rosalind on March 03 at 3:59 p.m.
It definitely sounds like the term “rainy day” needs to be defined. What counts? What circumstances must be met to tap into those funds?
I think schools ought to take these budget cuts as an opportunity to do what many business across the nation are doing and trim the fat. For those teachers, administrators, or support staff who haven’t been pulling their weight or performing well for years, this is a great opportunity to let them go. Anyone who works in a school knows there is at least one person in the building who hasn’t been in the game for a while and deserves to be let go.