Education Funding

Idaho Is Next To Last On Education Spending

Adam Cotterell — Tue, 21 May 2013 23:49:51 +0000

Of the 50 states and the District of Columbia only Utah spends less on education than Idaho. A new report Tuesday from the U.S. Census Bureau says Idaho spent $6,824 for each student in its public schools in 2011. The National average is $10,560. New York tops the list spending $19,076.

Public Tells Idaho Ed Task Force To Increase Funding, Get Idaho Out Of Common Core

Adam Cotterell — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 14:35:44 +0000

Idaho’s Education Improvement Task Force finished a statewide listening tour Thursday night in Boise. The group was created to recommend ways to improve the state’s schools after voters repealed an education overhaul last November.

Thursday night’s public meeting was well attended compared to some past meetings. About 200 people squeezed into the state capital building’s Lincoln Auditorium and 37 spoke. It lasted more than two and a half hours.

Levy Votes Show Disconnect Between Idaho Public And Lawmakers On Education

Adam Cotterell — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 20:00:05 +0000

Idaho voters Tuesday agreed to pay more than $100 million in additional taxes over the next few years when they approved 36 new school district levies. Reliance on supplemental levies to shore up school budgets has increased dramatically since the recession spurred cuts in state funding.

David Adler, director of the Andrus Center for Public Policy at Boise State, says the legislature is increasingly shifting the responsibility to fund education to local homeowners who pay property taxes. He says Tuesday’s levy votes reveal a disconnect between voters and lawmakers.

Idaho One Of Five States That Stand To Lose Most Education Money In Sequester

Adam Cotterell — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 22:08:09 +0000

It’s been several days since the federal spending cuts known as the sequester went into effect, and it’s still unclear how they will impact people’s lives.

Public Wants Idaho Lawmakers To Invest More Dollars Into Education

Adam Cotterell — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 15:04:14 +0000

About 350 people came to a meeting at Idaho’s capital Monday night which lawmakers called an education listening session. Many signed up to share their thoughts on issues facing public schools. One theme rose to the top, education funding, or the lack of it.

Idaho Governor Not Committed To Education Funding Says Former Advisor

Adam Cotterell — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 05:56:49 +0000

First came the preliminaries: welcomes, thanks, a nod to Abraham Lincoln for creating the Idaho Territory 150 years ago this year. But then it was time for the money. Governor Butch Otter’s first announcement in his State of the State address Monday was a proposal to raise state spending as a whole by 3.1 percent. That’s based on an estimated 5.3 percent increase in revenue.

Tiny Idaho Town Ponies Up, But Its School Still Suffers

Molly Messick — Mon, 21 May 2012 03:26:45 +0000

You might not guess it, if you happened to pass through, but tiny Rockland, Idaho, population three hundred eighteen, is a place of distinction. Continue reading.

Study Questions Constitutionality Of Idaho's Education Funding Plan

Emilie Ritter Saunders — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 18:00:54 +0000

A report released today by the Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy questions whether the state is meeting its constitutional duty to "maintain a general, uniform and thorough system of public, free common schools."

The report is authored by the center's director Mike Ferguson, who was also Idaho's chief economist for 25 years.