Education funding took center stage at the Idaho Legislature this year. Lawmakers nearly doubled Gov. Butch Otter’s proposed 2.9 percent increase in school funding, to $66 million. The cash infusion was an attempt to jump-start a series of reforms recommended by a state task force. Legislators even ditched Otter’s call for $30 million in new tax cuts – and Otter agreed. “I think that they found a better use for the money than tax relief this year,” Otter said. “In their wisdom and in my conclusion, I think they made the right decision.” Still, Idaho’s school funding remains below where it was in 2009; so does the state’s overall budget. After years of deep cuts during an economic downturn, lawmakers this year barely started restoring some of the services they cut then/Betsy Russell, SR. More here.

Question: Did you get the sense that education was the top priority in the 2014 Legislature?