'Education week' keeps Legislature busy
It was “education week” for the budget committee and in the statehouse during this third week of the legislative session.
There may not be a more important task for the Legislature than funding our state’s education system. In fact, nearly half of the state’s annual budget goes to fund K-12 public schools. When you add in funding for colleges, universities, and “other education,” that’s more than 60 percent of Idaho’s budget.
North Idaho College officials spoke to their commitment to the expansion of the Sandpoint Center plus shared the governor’s budget support of $226,700 for continued delivery of a two-year degree from NIC without having to travel to Coeur d’Alene. A total 616 students from Bonner County (more than 10 percent of the student population) and 182 students (about 3 percent of the student population) from Boundary County are taking courses through NIC.
I’m pleased to report that Lewis Clark State College also re-committed to continuing course offerings at Sandpoint with the goal of offering a four-year degree, again, without students needing to leave Bonner County. For the residents of Legislative District 1, this continues to be an important service and excellent opportunity. This is a goal I’ve been working on, with many others in our community, since before my service in the Senate. I am very excited about this and will continue to work to support this availability of higher education in our community.
The K-12 budget hearing was also this week. Idaho’s Constitution says “The stability of a republican form of government depending mainly upon the intelligence of the people, it shall be the duty of the legislature of Idaho, to establish and maintain a general, uniform and thorough system of public, free common schools.” This constitutional obligation is clear and a responsibility that I focus on. State Superintendent of Education Tom Luna presented a budget for the K-12 public school system that seeks an increase of $66.9 million of funding from the state. The details of the superintendent’s budget can be found online at: http://legislature.idaho.gov/budget/JFAC/presentations/2014/2014-01-23.01.pdf.
As your representative in the Idaho State Senate, the education of Idahoans is one of my top priorities. I will continue to work hard to ensure that local students have access to a quality education.
Other developments included the announcement by Gov. Otter of establishment of a working group to study the Idaho State Tax Commission. Information can be found at http://gov.idaho.gov/mediacenter/press/pr2014/1%20Jan/pr_08.html
I’ve heard from several constituents in the last few years about the approach the commission and its staff takes to issues and the concern that they focus on insignificant things and ignore glaring tax evasions. It is important that our tax system be fair and that the commission is also fair in its efforts to be certain that all Idahoans comply with our tax laws. I applaud the governor for his leadership on addressing these concerns and look forward to the working group’s recommendations.
Other issues surfaced and received hearings this week including changes in how the state manages care for our citizens with mental health and disability challenges, a re-design of our justice system, and a proposal to means test the grocery tax credit while lowering the income tax rate. All very complex issues that need discussion, but, I’ve run out of space for this week. Thank you for reading! The pace is picking up and as always I encourage you to follow your Legislature at work at www.legislature.idaho.gov and stay in touch: 1-800-626-0471 or skeough@senate.idaho.gov.