Richert: Is A Half Loaf Enough?

The Land Board gave public schools another much-needed $22 million Wednesday. The decision provided a partial victory to one board member, state schools superintendent Tom Luna, and perhaps some political cover to another, Gov. Butch Otter. It was a half measure, when circumstances demanded more. That fact will come into focus in the next few weeks, when legislators write a budget for public schools. The board - an all-Republican, five-member panel of statewide elected officials - took the $22 million out of the Public Schools Earnings Reserve Fund for 2010-11. It wasn’t the $52.8 million Luna wanted. And it won’t come close to tapping a fund projected to open the 2010-11 budget year with a $90.4 million balance/ Kevin Richert , Idaho Statesman. More here .

Question: Should the Land Board have given public schools more/less money that it did from the state endowment fund? Or should it have rejected Tom Luna’s request for any more money?