Idaho School Backlog Off-Base, Lawyer Says

Robert Huntley, the former Idaho Supreme Court justice who’s representing a group of school districts suing the state, says a new study of Idaho’s school construction backlog is off-base.

“It grossly understates the school facilities needs of Idaho,” attorney Huntley said.

The study, commissioned by the state, estimated Idaho’s school construction backlog at $274 million, down from the $700 million figure set by a 1993 state study. But state officials said the new study set lower standards for school buildings, in an effort to address only the most pressing problems.

The lawsuit, which goes to trial this spring, charges that the state Legislature has failed in its constitutional duty to provide for schools because of Idaho’s school construction problems.