March 25, 2022

Governor Signs Bill to Help Educators in High-need, Rural Areas with Education Costs

On Friday, Gov. Brad Little signed legislation to help educators in high-need and rural areas with various educational costs. Senate Bill 1290, sponsored by Sen. Janie Ward-Engelking (D-Boise) and Rep. Sally Toone (D-Gooding), establishes a rural educator incentive program for educators who work in high-need or rural school districts and charter schools. It would provide the maximum amount of eligible …

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March 24, 2022

House GOP kills budget for Idaho Commission for Libraries

On Thursday, a majority of House Republicans voted to defeat the appropriations budget for the Idaho Commission for Libraries. House Bill 824 died in a 33-36 vote. The legislation had been reworked twice, and objections from legislators led to $307,000 being cut from the commission’s budget, which would eliminate a statewide e-book collection. The ongoing money had been used annually …

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March 7, 2022

“We represent Idaho, not the IFF” – by Rep. James Ruchti and Sen. David Nelson

The 2021 session was disappointing for a number of reasons, but the legislature rejecting a $6 million grant to develop early-learning initiatives for children might have been the lowest point. That money would have helped communities build and fund preschool programs in accordance with local needs and values. But Republicans were bullied by the Idaho Freedom Foundation into voting against …

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February 25, 2022

Bill to Help Educators in High-need, Rural Areas with Education Costs Passes Senate

On Friday, the Senate passed a bill to help educators in high-need and rural areas with various educational costs. Senate Bill 1290, sponsored by Sen. Janie Ward-Engelking (D-Boise) and Rep. Sally Toone (D-Gooding), establishes a rural educator incentive program for educators who work in high-need or rural school districts and charter schools. It would provide the maximum amount of eligible …

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February 10, 2022

“All Idaho Children Deserve Safe, Well-funded School Facilities” – by Sen. David Nelson

Idaho public schools are the backbone of our local communities. But for many districts, facilities are crumbling due to age and a lack of resources needed to make repairs. This issue is further compounded by Idaho’s extreme population growth in recent years, leading to significant overcrowding in many schools, which can now only be fixed with new construction. The Idaho …

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February 4, 2022

Bill to Reduce Supplemental Levies, Property Taxes Introduced in Senate Education

A bill to reduce supplemental levies for school districts was introduced in the Senate Education Committee Thursday. The legislation, sponsored by Sen. David Nelson (D-Moscow), would enable the Idaho Legislature to appropriate additional funding to K-12 schools. Per the bill, if a school has a supplemental levy in place, 75% of the allocated money must go to reducing the levy. …

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February 1, 2022

Lopsided Income Tax Bill Heads to Governor’s Desk

Senate Republicans forwarded House Bill 436 to the governor’s office in a party-line vote. All Democrats voted against the legislation, advocating instead for more critical tax solutions, such as reducing property taxes or repealing the sales tax on groceries, and using state funds to plug the holes in school budgets that must be filled by supplemental levies. Under the bill, …

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July 27, 2021

“It’s time to start a dialogue” – by Sen. Melissa Wintrow and Shiva Rajbhandari

The following is a conversation between Sen. Melissa Wintrow and Boise High student Shiva Rajbhandari on the exclusion of students in discussions about public education. Wintrow: You were in school when allegations of teachers indoctrinating students started to circulate this year. How did you react? Rajbhandari: It was like, “Wow, they are attacking teachers when they are already putting in …

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June 8, 2021

“Critical thinking on life-support” – by Rep. Steve Berch

When I was elected to the Idaho House of Representatives in 2018, I requested, and was assigned to the Education committee. Given the challenges facing education, such as endless school bonds and levies, a teacher attrition crisis and childhood illiteracy, I was eager to start working toward the goal of solving these problems. After three years on the committee, my …

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