North Idaho should celebrate the supermajority vote by the Treasure Valley in May that created the state’s third community college district.

For years, the growing two counties that include Boise and Nampa-Caldwell had the distinction of being the largest metropolitan area in the country without a community college. Students seeking lower-division education could attend Oregon-based Treasure Valley Community College or pay higher costs and hope to land one of the diminishing community college student spots at Boise State University.

Now, with 68 percent approval from voters in Ada and Canyon counties, the future College of Western Idaho in Nampa is generating bipartisan excitement, from Gov. Butch Otter’s office to the Idaho Board of Education, from BSU President Bob Kustra to Senate Education Committee Chairman John Goedde, R-Coeur d’Alene. Goedde called the future college a “win-win for everyone” that will make it easier for North Idaho College in Coeur d’Alene and College of Southern Idaho in Twin Falls to sell the importance of their respective institutions.

North Idahoans should hope Goedde is correct.

In another scenario, the College of Western Idaho could become the darling of the community college system and a drag on finite funding provided to existing districts. CWI will be funded the same way as the others: property taxes, state allocation and student fees.

In a meeting with The Spokesman-Review editorial board last week, Sue Thilo, a Coeur d’Alene member of the state Board of Education, didn’t ease fears when she declined to guarantee that NIC state funding wouldn’t be affected. The board, which met at North Idaho College Wednesday and Thursday, doesn’t control community college funding, but it is influential in higher-education appropriations.

The Boise area, with an estimated 615,528 of the state’s 1.47 million population, has the legislative votes to gain its share of state funding first – and a history of getting what it wants. An example of this occurred in the 2007 Legislature when projects to fix Boise area freeways with GARVEE fund money were moved to the head of the line at the expense of important U.S. Highway 95 work in North Idaho.

Another concern about the future of North Idaho College was the surprise 5-2 January vote by the Board of Education against Thilo’s motion to support Coeur d’Alene’s proposed education corridor. The education corridor eventually would replace the adjacent DeArmond Mill to provide sufficient room for expansion of higher-education offerings from NIC, the University of Idaho and Lewis-Clark State College. Unilaterally, the Board of Education rejected the recommendation in part as too expensive without warning supporters that it would discuss the issue.

Thilo will have her hands full representing North Idaho higher-education interests as the College of Western Idaho becomes a reality next year. Fortunately, she has key allies in the Legislature. The education committees of both chambers are chaired by Kootenai County legislators: Sen. Goedde and state Rep. Bob Nonini, R-Post Falls.

The College of Western Idaho is a welcome addition to Idaho’s system of higher education. But it shouldn’t be treated as the first among equals.