Trib: Too early for balloons, confetti

They’re celebrating down in Boise. Lawmakers are congratulating themselves about their public schools budget that adds $109.5 million in new money - a 7.4 percent boost. And it comes on top of last year’s $101.2 million increase, another 7.4 percent boost. But Idaho schools are in such a deep financial hole that even a couple of back-to-back healthy budgets won’t help that much. So says the Education Law Center at the Rutgers Graduate School of Education. Last week, it ranked Idaho dead last in the country for per-pupil spending. That’s where it stood for four of the past five years. Only in 2011 did Idaho eke past Utah/ Marty Trillhaase , Lewiston Tribune. More here.

Question: Well, at least the Idaho Legislature is going in the right direction re: education spending, despite the best efforts of the Idaho Freedom Foundation and individual legislators like Vito Barbieri and Shannon McMillan to keep the state in the Dark Ages. Thoughts?