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Wednesday, September 7, 2011

public schools City Club Hosts Concerned Schools Superintendents

Posted by Andrew Crisp on Wed, Sep 7, 2011 at 4:31 PM

Today's City Club hosted superintendents from Meridian and Boise school districts, Linda Clark and Don Coberly, respectively. The two addressed the new education legislation and the ongoing effects of the economic downturn. The 2011-2012 year will prove defining for Idaho Public Schools with the introduction of new legislation requiring a greater emphasis on online courses, teacher pay for performance, and an overall budget cut of 4.9 percent.

"You've heard a lot about the measures that were enacted by the Legislature and what they did or did not do to public schools ... we are asked today to speak about the reality," said Clark.

"These are challenging times for both public and private sectors in Idaho," offered moderator Marty Peterson, himself of the University of Idaho. The financial climate is of particular interest to the state's two largest school districts: Boise and Meridian. "One of every five students enrolled in Idaho is enrolled in one of these two districts," said Peterson.

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Friday, March 27, 2009

budget / public schools Budget writers cut public schools

Posted by Nathaniel Hoffman on Fri, Mar 27, 2009 at 5:17 PM

Idaho budget writers snatched $109 million from Idaho public schools Friday morning, backfilling some of the state cuts with some $40 million in federal stimulus money, but leaving teachers, principals and superintendents with a $69 million hole in the coming fiscal year.

It's the first time in history that the state has allocated less money for public schools than the prior year. The general fund cut amounts to 7.7 percent of the 2009 budget.

Though Democrats on the Legislature's budget panel opposed most of the cuts and the teachers' union said members were dismayed and saddened by the proposed 2010 budget, there has been little public outcry over it.

"This year has been a very very different year…" Idaho Education Association President Sherri Wood told citydesk. "Our members, educators out there across, the state understand that we are in a different circumstance than we’ve ever been in before."

To that end, IEA members have been walking around with band-aids on for a week, rather than marching on the temporary statehouse in Boise.

“To say we’re going to rally over this budget, it’s just very difficult to do,” Wood said.

The IEA will hold a mock JFAC meeting next Wednesday, April 1, at 6:30 p.m. at Boise High School to provide a public forum on the K-12 budget. JFAC does not take public testimony at its meetings.

Boise Democratic Sen. Nicole LeFavour said at the meeting and reiterated just now on the phone to citydesk, that there was money to keep public schools whole but that some legislators do not necessarily like public schools.

“We have so radically underfunded education for so long that when you cut this much things fall apart,” LeFavour said, as she attempted to compose her own blog entry about the day.

Idaho schools chief Tom Luna released the following statement, after stumbling over the words at a press conference:

"No one wants to cut education, least of all me. Unfortunately in these unprecedented economic times, the members of the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee had to make the tough decision to cut public education. While I am not happy that we had to cut public education, I am relieved JFAC made every effort to minimize the cuts to education as much as possible."

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Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Boise / Tom Luna / public schools Boise punished in ed cuts

Posted by Nathaniel Hoffman on Wed, Feb 11, 2009 at 12:36 PM

One of the K-12 education cuts Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Luna has proposed will disproportionately affect the Boise School District, according to Boise Super Stan Olson.

Luna proposes eliminating the cost-per-mile reimbursement for busing students in urban areas, a $1.7 million savings to the state. But $1.45 million of that cut would come exclusively out of the Boise schools, according to a district estimate.

Moscow, Lewiston and Twin Falls schools would also be affected.

Olson and a platoon of Boise School District officials met with Democratic legislators on Monday to put some numbers to the proposed K-12 cuts. Of the $62 million in cuts that Luna has floated, $8 to $10 million would come from the Boise School District coffers.

“We’re very opposed to this,” Olson said of the busing cuts. “We’ve spent a lot of money to get under the cap.”

The state reimburses districts for most of their transportation costs based on either a cost-per-mile or a cost-per-pupil equation—whichever comes in cheaper, below a statewide average. The cost-per-mile measure has incentivized the Boise School District to encourage walking, investing in crossing guards and building a new bus facility.

If they had to rely on the cost-per-student formula, BSD would get less money back, to the tune of $1.45 million.

Luna spokeswoman Melissa McGrath responded:

Superintendent Luna does not want to make these cuts. He has said they are all bad ideas, and we understand that these bad ideas will negatively impact school districts in one way or another. It is unfortunate that we have to suggest cuts like this, but given the economic realities we are now facing, these budget reductions are necessary to meet revenue projections.

Other proposed cuts that would filter down to Boise schools: