Questions aired about IEN costs

Senate Education Chairman John Goedde, R-Coeur d’Alene, has convened a meeting in the state Capitol’s largest auditorium on the Idaho Education Network and questions that have been raised about its costs - including charges by local Internet providers around the state that they could provide the service for millions less than the state is spending. Among those attending are state Department of Administration chief Mike Gwartney, Gov. Butch Otter’s chief of staff Jason Kreizenbeck, state Superintendent of Schools Tom Luna, and nearly two dozen state lawmakers, along with local Internet service providers from around the state.

Before the hearing started, Goedde said, “I’m hoping that we can unearth the misinformation that may be floating around and come to some consensus on what is fact and what is fiction and then move forward, because I think the IEN is a very important tool, and I don’t want its future to be jeopardized.”

Kreizenbeck spoke first, emphasizing “the governor’s strong support for the Idaho Education Network,” followed by Garry Lough, communications director for the IEN, who said, “The cost comparisons … are not meaningful.” He said the IEN has 56 schools connected so far. “We’re proud to say that we’re on budget and ahead of schedule,” Lough told Goedde and the assembled lawmakers.

Steve Meyer and Mike Kennedy of Intermax, an Internet service provider in Coeur d’Alene, spoke next. “This is not exactly going as it could have been for the taxpayer and for the citizens of Idaho,” Kennedy, a Coeur d’Alene city councilman, told the lawmakers. “The cost differentials are very meaningful and very significant. … don’t let the mumbo-jumbo of the technology baffle you - we are doing what Qwest is doing already.”