Gains achieved in education, transportation

Greetings from the State Capitol! Spring is rapidly approaching and as I write this the Legislature has just completed our tenth week of work in Boise. There have been several major gains for our area of the state in the areas of education, transportation and workforce development.

I am proud to announce that after several years of planning, the University of Idaho and North Idaho College will now offer a baccalaureate program in computer science in the Coeur d'Alene area!

As chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, this funding was one of my top priorities. Our committee voted to fund a joint degree effort between the University of Idaho and NIC. In doing so, we allocated $950,000 to the project, which will provide for staff members and equipment for the program to operate.

I am hopeful that this is the first step to creating a pipeline for employers in the computer science field in North Idaho and that it will be a big boost for the economy and educational offerings in the area. This will help several Sandpoint-based companies and allow students to work toward their degree in Coeur d'Alene instead of having to leave the area all together.

We're making additional progress in helping our workforce get trained and qualified to find better jobs.

We have funded a major expansion of technical education in industry areas such as software and web design, dental hygiene, aerospace technology and aircraft maintenance. These are important industries in our area and I supported this effort as it passed our committee.

The budget includes $3.79 million expansion at Idaho's six technical colleges-- including North Idaho College — directly helping those in our community who are looking to move upward in the workforce. This budget also increases funding for professional technical classes at the high school levels in our area.

I have also been working with other legislative leaders to craft an education budget that in the end will reflect a 7.4 percent increase — that's a substantial increase to help educate the children of this state which is our primary constitutional duty as well as the right thing to do for our society's future.

As you know, I've worked hard to fund repairs to our crumbling roads and bridges. I am excited to tell you that our committee has approved an increase in funding to the Idaho Transportation Department. This additional money will help fund much-needed transportation projects across all areas of the state, including ours.

As the session draws closer to a conclusion, there are still many other important decisions that will be made that you need to weigh in on. I appreciate the messages I'm getting from home! It's so important that elected officials like me hear directly from Idahoans. If you are on Facebook you can follow my page, Senator Shawn Keough. I use this page to post information about the legislative session and the issues at hand. You can also check out my website at shawnkeough.com or you can send me an email message at skeough@senate.idaho.gov.

Also, for information on the bills that are being considered this session, please go to: http://www.legislature.idaho.gov.

I'm honored to serve the citizens of Boundary and Bonner Counties in the Idaho State Senate. As this will likely be my last report from Boise for the legislative session, I would also like to thank the Daily Bee, the Priest River Times and the Bonners Ferry Herald for allowing me this space in which to keep you informed! Thank you for all of your support!