Moscow Education (Idaho)

As reported in today's edition of the Moscow-Pullman Daily News:

Construction on an addition at St. Mary’s School is expected to begin this summer after years of planning and months of negotiations with neighbors.

“It’s going to be cool … way bigger than it is now,” said second-grader Collin Niehenke.

Like many students, the 8-year-old doesn’t like being stuck inside when bad weather means indoor recess. The construction plans include a new gym — “with basketball hoops” — where they could play instead.

The project also includes a multipurpose room, music classroom, two standard classrooms, an elevator, an additional set of stairs and upgrades to the electrical, heating and ventilations systems.

It accommodates a growing library and gives the principal an office.

“We’d like to start construction this summer,” said Jim Boudreau, chairman of St. Mary’s School Board.

Boudreau is leading the project that received the first of three required approvals from the Boise Diocese last week. The diocese will meet again in mid-May, with the final approval meeting scheduled for June.

In the meantime, the school is working to raise $3 million to fund the project through its capital campaign.

The donations raised so far have come as a combination of monetary gifts and pledges, and in-kind donations like labor and supplies. Individuals and alumni have been the greatest contributors thus far.

Boudreau said they are roughly halfway there, but “it would be really nice to have another million in donations.”

Building will begin with funds already in the bank while the capital campaign moves forward.

Once the project earns final approval, “big backhoes and operators will be starting the next day,” Boudreau said.

The school will remain open and operational during an estimated 14 months of construction. The work should be finished in fall 2007. The students will be affected, but the school will not be uninhabitable, he said.

“It will be exciting for the kids going to school during construction,” he said. “They’ll be connected to the project.”

As reported in today's edition of the Idaho Statesman

A University of Idaho student sustained two broken legs, shattered ankles and an undisclosed back injury when he fell 60 feet out an open window of his fraternity house early this morning.

Gawain “Dewey” Neighbor, 21, of Boise is being treated in a Spokane-area hospital for the injuries; preliminary reports indicate Neighbor does have movement in his legs, according to Moscow Police reports.

Moscow Police say preliminary reports indicate Neighbor fell out an open window next to his bed on the third floor of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity house at 727 Elm St. around 4:30 a.m., falling 60 feet to the ground and landing on concrete.

Two other residents of the home told police they heard a noise and woke to find Neighbor on the ground, moaning in pain.

A roommate moved Neighbor to a car and drove him to Grittman Medical Center in Moscow, where he was treated before being transported to another hospital in Spokane, Moscow Assistant Police Chief David Duke said.

There is evidence Neighbor had been drinking prior to the accident, Duke said.

It's noteworthy that of the 33 people who spoke in favor of the Conditional Use Permit for New Saint Andrews College, 17 of them (52%) were not associated with the college or the church.

You can hear the reasons that they gave for wanting NSA downtown in their own words.

• Marshall Comstock
• Susan Wilson
• Shelly Bennett
• Mark Boehne
• Janice McMillan
• Richard Nielsen
• Bill Parks
• Gerald Weitz
• Bill Green
• Bob Dougherty
• Chris Samson
• Evan Holmes
• Don Meyer
• Lee Gibbs
• Mark Hubbard
• Cheryl Muelson
• Becky Johnson

As reported in today's edition of the Idaho Statesman, here is what Attorney General Wasden said in a release this afternoon:

The University of Idaho and the Consolidated Investment Trust (CIT), managed by the University of Idaho Foundation, will share in an $8.3 million dollar mediated settlement of legal disputes arising from the University Place real estate project. Attorney General Lawrence Wasden, the University of Idaho and its Board of Regents, the University of Idaho Foundation, Inc., and the other parties announced the settlement today.

The State Board of Education, acting as the University’s regents, approved the settlement earlier today. The Foundation’s board and Attorney General Wasden previously approved the agreement. The Attorney General has enforcement authority regarding charitable trusts and oversight authority over non-profit corporations.

The CIT, which consists of several University of Idaho endowments and which is managed by the University of Idaho Foundation, will receive approximately $5.8 million under terms of the settlement. In 2005, the Foundation initiated litigation to recover $12 million originally borrowed from the CIT as interim financing for University Place. The University joined in that action. Prior to today’s settlement, the Foundation repaid more than one-half of the original loan. The settlement will extinguish the remaining principal and interest balance the Foundation owes to the CIT.

In addition to the CIT portion of the settlement, the University of Idaho will receive $2.5 million from the settlement funds to resolve all of the University’s claims in the litigation. This payment will reimburse the University for some of the losses it incurred on this project.

The parties to the settlement are the University of Idaho Foundation and its directors, officers and volunteers; the University of Idaho; the University Regents; Attorney General Wasden on behalf of the Consolidated Investment Trust (CIT) and its beneficiaries; Great American Insurance Companies, the fidelity insurer for the University of Idaho and the University of Idaho Foundation; Philadelphia Indemnity Insurance Company, the directors and officers insurer for the University of Idaho Foundation; Attorneys Liability Protection Society, Inc., A Risk Retention Group (“ALPS”) the insurers for the law firms and the attorneys; State of Idaho Department of Administration - Risk Management Group, insurer for the State of Idaho and its employees; the Givens Pursley LLP law firm and its attorneys Roy L. Eiguren, L. Edward Miller and Franklin G. Lee; the Elam & Burke law firm and its attorney Ryan Armbruster; former University of Idaho President Dr. Robert Hoover; and former University of Idaho Vice President of Finance and Administration Jerry Wallace.

“The settlement follows months of factual investigation subsequent to the filing of lawsuits. The settlement is an arms-length resolution reached in good faith after several days of negotiation with the help of a neutral mediator who has no ties to the project or any of the parties. The claims, counterclaims, and third-party claims arising out of University Place presented complicated issues of fact and law. The settlement is a reasonable resolution of an extremely complex matter, avoids substantial future litigation costs, and is in the best interest of the University community,” the parties said in a joint statement.

The settlement extinguishes all claims that the parties have against each other, but is not an admission of fault or liability by any of its parties.

The Foundation’s contribution to the global settlement fund is $2.5 million. The $5.8 million is being contributed by the parties’ insurers. The amount contributed by or on behalf of any specific party by the private insurers is confidential and has not been disclosed to the Foundation, the University, the Regents or the Attorney General.

With this settlement, the Foundation has now reduced its losses associated with

The Honorable Terry Lukens, a retired Washington state court judge, acted as mediator. Judge Lukens is affiliated with JAMS, a nationwide company providing alternative dispute resolution services.

The Foundation’s civil action against Civic Partners, which was the initial private developer and project manager for the University Place project, and Civic Partners' counterclaim against the Foundation are not part of the settlement and remain pending in state district court in Ada County.

From Betsy Z. Russell's blog An Eye on Boise. Russell is a staff writer with the Spokesman Review.

 The Senate has just voted 24-11 for SCR 134, a resolution sponsored by Sen. Gary Schroeder, R-Moscow, that rejects the high school curriculum redesign rule that the House Education Committee accepted last week. There was a long and intense debate, and in the end, the strong Senate vote came over the objections of Senate Education Chair John Goedde, R-Coeur d’Alene, who debated twice against the resolution.

Joan speaks against the Moscow Board of Adjustment’s granting NSA a CUP.  She is biased in her reporting and missed a few of the pertinent facts that occurred at the hearing.

The Board of Adjustment worked carefully and in broad daylight to come to a decision granting the CUP.  The entire process was transparent but rather lengthy.  ljgcats comment that citizens should question what is going on behind the scenes is absurd and insulting to the members of the Board of Adjustment and the Moscow City staff.

Parking was discussed for over two hours.  Board members repeatedly pointed out that NSA is not the reason for the parking problem in downtown Moscow.  In fact the Board produced photos of the Jackson Street parking lot showing that the southwest corner was empty almost all the time.  Also Board members pointed out that local business do not have sufficient parking for their employees who regularly run outside to move their cars from one spot to another to avoid getting a ticket.  They agreed that there is no reason to penalize NSA without penalizing the other existing business also.

Two Moscow City Planners, the Moscow City Attorney and the Board of Adjustment agreed that there is no zoning violation and that granting this CUP is the best fit for Moscow in accordance with our Comprehensive Plan.  While some disagree, the fit is the best for the entire City of Moscow.

Bob Green didn't so much speak out against the CUP as he did rant against the Board of Adjustment members and their process.  He was extremely rude and did not make any points.  He just ranted.

Most restaurants fail in the first few years.  Basilio’s is not failing because of parking.  The restaurant was dirty and stank of stale garbage rather than smelling yummy like an Italian Restaurant should.  Louis said that he couldn't offer lunch catering to downtown business because of a lack of parking spots.  Yet catering and parking don't necessarily have a cause and effect relationship.

Joan also ignored the positive comments from individuals with no affiliation to NSA or Christ Church but who own downtown businesses made about NSA.  They all commented how vibrant the downtown area has become since NSA moved there.

Our system is still intact.  Joan is displeased with the results.  NSA should exist by right rather than by CUP.  If we want to heal our community, we need to let NSA remain where it is and move forward.  The complaints are from a small, disgruntled group of individuals who want what they want not what is best for Moscow.

KQQQ carried an audio report this morning about the proposed 1.5% increase in the Idaho sales tax to support government schools. 

Listen Here.

They are going to delay the vote until October or later.

There is not strong voter support for any option put forward.

Listen Here.

Governor Kempthorne has proposed raising the minimum teacher's salary from $27,500 to $30,000.

To judge the adequacy of this proposal, let's look at a few facts.

Salary is only the tip of a the pay iceberg. Beside salary there are teachers' generous current (health) and deferred (retirement) benefits, which average another 41 percent of base pay.

Raw salary also ignores the fact that teachers' contracts only run for 190 days, with generous sick leave, personal leave, professional leave, bereavement leave, family leave, etc. Most other workers are on the job at least 240 days per year.

For example, last year a beginning teacher in Meridian made $37,001 in salary and benefits for a 190 day contract year. Under the Governor's proposal this would rise to $39,981.

For Boise the comparable figures are: $39,358 and $42,338; for Nampa $38,377 and $41,356; for Bonneville $39,838 and $42,817; for Blaine $40,232 and $43,312; for CDA $41,404 and $44,384. Annualized to a the normal 240 day work year of most taxpayers, a sample of Idaho districts averaged $48,001 and $51,765 for $27500 and $30,000 base pay.

How do these stack up with other fresh college graduates taking their first job? You be the judge.

Much has been made of a recent American Federation of Teachers Survey that shows Idaho's beginning teacher's salary ranking 45th in the US. The ranking in the Survey is misleading for five reasons:

1. The proper comparison is not with what beginning teachers make compared to other states, which are similarly inflated, but with what teachers make in private schools that pay a market based wage. On average, public school teachers make 20 to 20 percent more than their private counterparts.
2. The reported Idaho beginning teachers' pay in the Survey ($25,908) is in error; the statutory minimum in Idaho is $27,500. Using the proper Idaho minimum, the ranking of Idaho's teachers raw salary rises to 39th.
3. The AFT Survey ignores both current and deferred benefits. Idaho's benefits are above average and rank 14th among the states.
4. The AFT Survey ignores Idaho's lower cost of living (COL), which ranks 35th in the US.
5. The AFT Survey ranking ignores the fact that Idaho's private sector pay ranks 46th among the states, well below the US average. Further, the occupations used by the AFT to compare private sector pay are not comparable, and thus their private sector pay data are inflated.

Taking these into account, Idaho's statutory, COL adjusted, beginning teacher's pay (including benefits) ranks 19th in the US, well above the comparable national average. Beginning teachers' pay relative to average private sector pay ranks 9th in the US.

Even using the AFT's erroneous beginning teacher pay, Idaho's beginning pay relative to the AFT's chosen average private sector pay ranks 21st in the US.

Are Idaho's beginning teachers underpaid? You be the judge. But their pay clearly ranks far higher among the states than the taxpayers who pay their salaries and benefits. It is also well above what private school teachers make.

John T. Wenders
Professor of Economics, Emeritus, University of Idaho
For all the facts about Idaho education go to: http://www.edexidaho.org

I just talked to **** who was superintendent of ***** School District for a number of years. He said that there are NO restrictions on school district .003 M and O monies. These monies can be spent on anything--salaries, books, sinking fund for future needs, etc. de facto, of course, most of it gets spent on payroll. Mix is flat-out wrong. All of which shows how out of touch she is with how school districts are managed.

The "message" from the MSD Board member is probably the DUMBEST statement I have ever read from a school board member.  Perhaps there is a connection between the board members knowledge and the MSD fiscal problems!

"Two, there's an enormous need for the district to educate people on a few simple facts that some blogmeisters would rather they not know.   For example, we run a tight ship budgetwise, but no amount of cuts  from our maintenance and operations budget will allow us to contribute  from that budget toward significant remodeling and new construction.   The State has allowed for new construction and remodeling to be funded  only from bonds -- like it or not, there simply is no legal way to use  M and O monies to remodel or construct, and the December 2005 State  Supreme Court decision calling for a move away from bond monies to  fund construction won't change that.  It will allow for other methods  of funding large-scale remodels or new construction, but there is no  decision that the legislature can come up with that allows us now to  "tighten" an already conservative budget and use the "excess" to build  or remodel.  Plant facilities levies can be used for some large-scale  improvements, but significant remodeling and construction are fundable  only by bonds.  Both of those, however, are voter-approved levies.  No  matter what any  of our anti-public schools neighbors tell you, there  isn't a district anywhere that is able to use regular operations money  to fund new construction, and their vitriol toward public schools  can't hide that fact, only muddy the waters.  But if people don't know  that, and no one mounts a large-scale effort to tell them, then the  discussion is framed by those who are counting on the general populace  to not know much about school funding.  MSD has taken a lot of hits  and not responded at times; I have taken a lot of hits and have tried  only to respond when facts are in dispute.  But if a large segment of  the voters think we're reckless in our budgeting and could just as well suck it in and build from the dollars saved, our efforts will be fruitless."

Recently, Gov. Kempthorne signed House Bill 718 into law, effective March 22. This new law requires all government agencies to respond to public records requests via e-mail using an electronic format.

This is good news for the patrons of the Moscow School District.

Up until now, MSD refused to respond to public records requests electronically. MSD insisted on responding only in hard copy and requiring that these copies be either mailed or pick up in person at district offices. MSD also charged a fee for duplicating public records when they could have been sent without cost via e-mail. These procedures made it costly and difficult for patrons to obtain and analyze financial and statistical data using spreadsheet software.

Henceforth, patrons should make public records requests to MSD via e-mail, and request that the response be in electronic form, also sent via e-mail. If MSD defies the law, this should be brought to the attention of Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson.

MSD patrons should thank Latah County’s legislative delegation, Reps. Tom Trail and Shirley Ringo, and Sen. Gary Schroeder, for voting in favor of the bill and ending MSD’s policy of making it difficult for patrons to obtain public records.

Jack Wenders, Moscow

Moscow School Board seat elections will be held this spring for districts 2 and 5.

From today's Moscow-Pullman Daily News.

Each position is a three-year term. Applications are due in the district office by 5 p.m. April 14. The District 2 seat currently is held by Keely Emerine Mix and Margaret Dibble is the District 5 member. Dibble plans to run for reelection.

“I will always be involved in working to improve our public schools and if another term as a trustee is the best way to accomplish that I will definitely run,” Emerine Mix said.

The election will be May 16.

I can only hope mix will run. She's done a great job at pushing the most expensive bond options, ticking off the tax payers, and keeping our taxes down. I can only hope she gets reelected for another three years.

From today's Moscow-Pullman Daily News.

Moscow voters won’t be facing a school bond election this spring.

But the district’s facilities task force will be working on a plan. It will be meeting and collaborating with local residents over the summer to form a bond recommendation for an October or later election.

“We will continue to work,” said Superintendent Candis Donicht, who was chairwoman of the task force. “It is our challenge to bring something forward that the community can support.”

Donicht presented the recommendation to wait to the board, which quietly acknowledged the message, Tuesday night.

Most already knew what the recommendation would be. They had attended past month’s task force meetings where the choice to wait became clear.

“We don’t have to return to square one — we do need to approach this with a different lens,” Donicht said.

Survey results revealed last week showed that voter support was split amongst the three different building options that had been presented by the task force. None of the options received the two-thirds support that needed to pass a bond.

Tuesday’s meeting included a second public presentation of survey results. It brought out more suggestions for how to move forward this summer and questions that need answers.

One audience member wanted to know how some of the survey respondents became “informed” — if it was from news articles, announcements or something else.

A few different people wanted more information on what support percentages for the options would look like without the provision for the alternative high school.

Task force member Ed Christian wanted to know why the survey revealed 16 to 20 percent of voters who will vote no regardless of the option.

The task force will meet again on April 10.

From today's Moscow-Pullman Daily News.

Overcrowded classrooms aren’t going away anytime soon for Idaho’s students.

A bill passed Thursday by the Senate was supposed to solve the problem.

It was created in response to a Supreme Court ruling that put the Legislature in charge of funding school facilities. But the reaction caused by House Bill 743 is likely to put it back in court before students see any improvements.

“They got it passed only by bypassing both education committees,” said attorney Robert C. Huntley, who intends to take the state of Idaho back to court if something doesn’t change.

One particular piece of the legislation is sparking heavy controversy. To get a loan, districts would have to let the State Board of Education appoint a supervisor. If voters reject property tax increases in elections twice then the supervisor could fire the district’s superintendent and order a property tax increase to pay back the money.

After voting against the bill, Sen. Gary Schroeder, R-Moscow, publicly referred to it as “taxation without representation.” He predicted it would inflame the public and cause a retaliation similar to the Boston Tea Party.

Moscow’s Superintendent Candis Donicht agreed.

“The part imposing the tax upon the local patrons — assuming after they had voted against it twice — I don’t think that’s going to be acceptable to the communities,” she said.

Huntley sees the legislation as fundamentally flawed. “The legislators take an oath of office to support and defend the Idaho Constitution. They have a duty to do what the Supreme Court mandates,” Huntley said. “They are now violating their oath of office.”

He referred to the case of a group of school districts called the Idaho Schools for Equal Educational Opportunity.

The group sued the state in 1990 to challenge the adequacy and method of funding public education. After pingponging through appeals for more than 15 years, the case reached a final resolution Dec. 21 when the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the districts, finding that the state’s methods were unconstitutional.

The following months saw a battle between two partisan bills — 690 and 691. Both were meant to find a resolution yet both failed to leave the House Education Committee.

Members of legislative leadership stepped in and drafted the bill just passed.

Huntley believed a Democrat-backed House bill was “a very good bill” that would have settled the lawsuit and fixed the schools.

But support couldn’t be rallied for it or a Republican alternative.

The new bill passed 22-12.

It will:

• Use roughly $5 million for school maintenance next year;
• Require districts to deposit an amount equal to at least 2 percent of their school building value into a maintenance account; and
• Establish a $25 million state loan fund that school districts can use to fix safety problems.

“We were hoping for funding for public school facilities that is more in line with what occurs in other states,” Donicht said. “Somehow I wouldn’t expect to see this kind of legislation in other states. This isn’t how other states are resolving their issues.

“I would hope the Supreme Court would have expected a better resolution.”

She described the firing clause as “something of a punitive piece.”

“House Bill 743 does virtually nothing to overcome the backlog of $620 million in school construction,” Huntley said, describing the backlog as the construction and repair needs that were identified in the lawsuit.

Rep. Shirley Ringo, D-Moscow, issued a survey of needs early this month. She sent it to the state’s 114 districts in an effort to rally support for a solid plan to update school facilities. Fifty districts have responded so far.

Survey respondents listed their biggest challenges as overcrowded classrooms; inadequate science labs; inadequate facilities for physical education; heating, ventilation, air conditioning and control problems; and overuse of modular classrooms.

Ringo’s survey revealed that, throughout roughly half of the state’s districts, there are 99 buildings more than 50 years old and 25 buildings more than 80 years old.

“The Legislature has done nothing since the year 2000, nothing substantial to reduce that backlog,” Huntley said. “Some school districts have passed bonds and in others, buildings issues have gotten worse.”

The Idaho Supreme Court will be watching what happens next. The court retained jurisdiction in the case after it issued its December opinion in which Justice Linda Copple Trout wrote in closing — “we leave the policy decisions to that separate branch of government, subject to our continuing responsibility to ensure Idaho’s constitutional provisions are satisfied.”

Huntley will be watching, too.

Huntley said the Legislature has another week to try to do something right and if it does, the ISEEO won’t have to go back to court.

Quickread:

• What happened: The Moscow Board of Adjustment approved the conditional-use permit application for New Saint Andrews College, placing restrictions on the number of students and on commercial frontage.
• What it means: New Saint Andrews will be able to continue regular operations in its current location.
• What happens next: An appeal of the decision could filed, sending the issue before the Moscow City Council.
• Why you should care: Some Moscow residents claim NSA has increased vitality downtown, while others say the college has taken away parking spots and business from potential customers. If the decision stands, it would mark the end a year’s worth of debate over whether the college should remain in downtown Moscow.

From today's Moscow-Pullman Daily News.

New Saint Andrews College was granted a conditional-use permit by the Moscow Board of Adjustment Tuesday night in spite of parking concerns voiced by neighboring businesses.

There are conditions: enrollment must be capped at 200 students and the college must maintain 160 feet of commercial frontage.

The commercial frontage includes the Tyndale Library, NSA Bookstore and empty retail space on the ground floor of NSA, formerly occupied by a coffeehouse. All are open to the public. The college already internally committed to the 200 enrollment limit.

About 120 people, including Moscow business owners and residents, New Saint Andrews staff and students came to the public hearing. At issue was whether the classical Christian college could remain in the historical Skattaboe Block building adjacent to Friendship Square at 403 and 405 South Main Street.

The college, a nonprofit educational institution with an enrollment of 140 students, has been on South Main Street since 2002. Controversy started broiling early last year after a complaint was filed against NSA on the grounds that educational institutions were not allowed in the central business district.

Atlas School and the Moscow School District’s alternative high school were caught up in the zoning debate. Eventually, the City Council passed a law granting permission to schools and educational institutions through the conditional-use permit process.

New Saint Andrews students told the board they want to be downtown because they’re a part of the community and want that to continue.

NSA student Nate Douglas moved to Moscow from Texas a few months ago. “The school has a goal of enhancing a sense of community,” he said.

He said he and many other students patronize downtown businesses during their lunch hour, before and after class. The school has no dorms or cafeteria.

According to a survey conducted by New Saint Andrews, 78.2 percent of students reported going to a coffee shop before or after classes, 49.5 percent reported eating at a restaurant and 33.9 percent reported shopping at a store.

Ten percent of the students work downtown.

Many Moscow residents said NSA has had a positive impact on downtown and the community.

Susan Wilson, a Realtor who works downtown, said she attributes the downtown’s vitality and energy to NSA’s presence downtown.

“It’s ironic that we are trying to attract more businesses to downtown but one of the largest institutions must get permission to remain there,” she said.

The 149 parking spots in the Jackson Street parking lot were at the center of discussion Tuesday night. Roy Atwood, president of NSA, said the college conducted an informal study that found 64 percent of NSA students drive to school. Of those who do, 93 percent park in the Jackson Street lot.

But NSA staff and students claim many of them use other means of transportation than driving.

Beth Covington, a former NSA student and current employee, said that as a student she didn’t have a car. “I carpooled, walked or biked.”

But some neighboring business owners said the students who drive are causing the problem with parking. Louis Reed, owner of Basilio’s Italian Ristorante, located in the Moscow Hotel building and adjacent to the college, said he is being forced to shut his doors.

“I’ve been here for six years and I’m going out of business because of the lack of parking. NSA claims it is a nonprofit institution. Well, I’m nonprofit too, but not by choice,” Reed said.

Reed said during peak restaurant hours during the week, at noon and at dinner time, there is no parking available for potential customers.

A retail parking space can generate nine customers in an eight-hour shift, whereas a parking space for the college only generates one customer for eight hours, he said.

A Community Development Department staff report shared at the meeting stated NSA creates a need for 43-65 parking stalls, which is 12-34 more stalls than other commercial uses of the same size in downtown.

The Board of Adjustment debated solutions to the parking problem for two hours after listening to three hours of testimony, but failed to come up with a solution. The board debated asking students to park at the southwest end of the parking lot, further away from many of the businesses with parking concerns, or requiring the college to provide additional parking spots as enrollment increases.

Board Chairman Jon Wheaton said the parking solution would be better addressed by the City Council.

“This issue needs to be addressed by the city,” Wheaton said. “The City Council needs to get off their backsides and do something about it.”

The board agreed that the school easily met the rest of the criteria required for a conditional-use permit.

The college demonstrated in its application that it doesn’t endanger public health or safety or cause nuisances; meets development standards; is a benefit to the public and is in harmony with the rest of the downtown; and isn’t in conflict with the rest of the comprehensive plan.

With the exception of parking, the board agreed that NSA isn’t detrimental to adjoining properties.

The board’s decision stands unless an appeal is filed with the City Council.

Anyone want to take bets on how long it will take for an appeal to be filed?

Quickread:

• What happened: The Moscow Board of Adjustment approved the conditional-use permit application for New Saint Andrews College, placing restrictions on the number of students and on commercial frontage.
• What it means: New Saint Andrews will be able to continue regular operations in its current location.
• What happens next: An appeal of the decision could filed, sending the issue before the Moscow City Council.
• Why you should care: Some Moscow residents claim NSA has increased vitality downtown, while others say the college has taken away parking spots and business from potential customers. If the decision stands, it would mark the end a year’s worth of debate over whether the college should remain in downtown Moscow.

From today's Moscow-Pullman Daily News.

New Saint Andrews College was granted a conditional-use permit by the Moscow Board of Adjustment Tuesday night in spite of parking concerns voiced by neighboring businesses.

There are conditions: enrollment must be capped at 200 students and the college must maintain 160 feet of commercial frontage.

The commercial frontage includes the Tyndale Library, NSA Bookstore and empty retail space on the ground floor of NSA, formerly occupied by a coffeehouse. All are open to the public. The college already internally committed to the 200 enrollment limit.

About 120 people, including Moscow business owners and residents, New Saint Andrews staff and students came to the public hearing. At issue was whether the classical Christian college could remain in the historical Skattaboe Block building adjacent to Friendship Square at 403 and 405 South Main Street.

The college, a nonprofit educational institution with an enrollment of 140 students, has been on South Main Street since 2002. Controversy started broiling early last year after a complaint was filed against NSA on the grounds that educational institutions were not allowed in the central business district.

Atlas School and the Moscow School District’s alternative high school were caught up in the zoning debate. Eventually, the City Council passed a law granting permission to schools and educational institutions through the conditional-use permit process.

New Saint Andrews students told the board they want to be downtown because they’re a part of the community and want that to continue.

NSA student Nate Douglas moved to Moscow from Texas a few months ago. “The school has a goal of enhancing a sense of community,” he said.

He said he and many other students patronize downtown businesses during their lunch hour, before and after class. The school has no dorms or cafeteria.

According to a survey conducted by New Saint Andrews, 78.2 percent of students reported going to a coffee shop before or after classes, 49.5 percent reported eating at a restaurant and 33.9 percent reported shopping at a store.

Ten percent of the students work downtown.

Many Moscow residents said NSA has had a positive impact on downtown and the community.

Susan Wilson, a Realtor who works downtown, said she attributes the downtown’s vitality and energy to NSA’s presence downtown.

“It’s ironic that we are trying to attract more businesses to downtown but one of the largest institutions must get permission to remain there,” she said.

The 149 parking spots in the Jackson Street parking lot were at the center of discussion Tuesday night. Roy Atwood, president of NSA, said the college conducted an informal study that found 64 percent of NSA students drive to school. Of those who do, 93 percent park in the Jackson Street lot.

But NSA staff and students claim many of them use other means of transportation than driving.

Beth Covington, a former NSA student and current employee, said that as a student she didn’t have a car. “I carpooled, walked or biked.”

But some neighboring business owners said the students who drive are causing the problem with parking. Louis Reed, owner of Basilio’s Italian Ristorante, located in the Moscow Hotel building and adjacent to the college, said he is being forced to shut his doors.

“I’ve been here for six years and I’m going out of business because of the lack of parking. NSA claims it is a nonprofit institution. Well, I’m nonprofit too, but not by choice,” Reed said.

Reed said during peak restaurant hours during the week, at noon and at dinner time, there is no parking available for potential customers.

A retail parking space can generate nine customers in an eight-hour shift, whereas a parking space for the college only generates one customer for eight hours, he said.

A Community Development Department staff report shared at the meeting stated NSA creates a need for 43-65 parking stalls, which is 12-34 more stalls than other commercial uses of the same size in downtown.

The Board of Adjustment debated solutions to the parking problem for two hours after listening to three hours of testimony, but failed to come up with a solution. The board debated asking students to park at the southwest end of the parking lot, further away from many of the businesses with parking concerns, or requiring the college to provide additional parking spots as enrollment increases.

Board Chairman Jon Wheaton said the parking solution would be better addressed by the City Council.

“This issue needs to be addressed by the city,” Wheaton said. “The City Council needs to get off their backsides and do something about it.”

The board agreed that the school easily met the rest of the criteria required for a conditional-use permit.

The college demonstrated in its application that it doesn’t endanger public health or safety or cause nuisances; meets development standards; is a benefit to the public and is in harmony with the rest of the downtown; and isn’t in conflict with the rest of the comprehensive plan.

With the exception of parking, the board agreed that NSA isn’t detrimental to adjoining properties.

The board’s decision stands unless an appeal is filed with the City Council.

Anyone want to take bets on how long it will take for an appeal to be filed?

Courtesy of Daniel Foucachon

"Unionism seldom, if ever, uses such power as it has to insure better work; almost always it devotes a large part of that power to safeguarding bad work."

—H.L. Mencken

From Betsy Z. Russell's blog An Eye on Boise.

The Senate State Affairs Committee has voted 6-3 to send the full Senate SJR 108, a constitutional amendment that would shift school operations funding off the property tax, and raise the sales tax by whatever amount needed to cover the schools’ loss – likely one and a quarter percent. Meanwhile, the House Revenue & Taxation Committee this morning voted 11-8 to introduce and send to the full House a new bill from Rep. Mike Moyle, R-Star, to eliminate the school operations property tax, but raise sales tax by just a penny. That would leave a $40 million gap in school funding.

HT: Bill J.

The Trivium by Sister Miriam Joseph Rauh The Trivium is a rigorous and utterly delightful presentation of the three areas that form the basis for all learning: logic, grammar, and rhetoric. Sister Miriam Joseph Rauh, a professor of English at St. Mary's College for thirty years, helps you see the unity and harmony of these three areas as she gives you solid and easily-grasped explanations of even their most abstruse elements: not just general grammar, but also propositions, syllogisms, enthymemes, fallacies, poetics, figurative language, and metrical discourse! Attractively laid out to maximize clarity, this book is also packed with lively examples, exercises, and illustrations drawn from the works of Shakespeare, Milton, Plato, and others. The examples are so rich that they're a literary education in themselves. In the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, students studied and mastered language in the integrated way taught by this book. Modern education, by contrast, suffers from separating the parts from the vision of the whole. That's why Sister Miriam Joseph designed and taught an introductory course on the classical trivium: to help students "acquire mastery over the tools of learning." This book is the fruit of that course. Among the many things you'll learn in The Trivium: How to distinguish various types and moods (with examples drawn from Boswell's Life of Johnson, Euripides' Iphigenia, and the Bard's Henry V) Help to tell the difference between an absolute and a qualified statement -- from the Bible! Stirring examples of figurative language from the Psalms, Shakespeare, Tennyson, and other masters Heroic couplets, heroic quatrains, Italian sonnets, English sonnets: how to make your way easily through all the confusing nomenclature -- and enjoy the poetry Seven important definitions that clarify the relationship between language and reality Aristotle's ten categories of being: still relevant to help you make sense of the world today Definitives, connectives, prepositions, conjunctions: general rules Simple, down-to-earth direction to help you navigate the thorniest thickets of abstract logic -- including Aristotelian and Goclenian sorites, epicheirema, mediated opposition, and more Syntactical analysis in general grammar: how it can help you think more clearly and express yourself more precisely Famous definitions from Arnold Bennett, Matthew Arnold, and St. Paul Three fallacies of the dilemma, and how to spot them You've probably heard of argumentum ad hominem, but what about argumentum ad populum? Ad misericordiam? Ad verecundiam? How to parse these popular politicians' tricks Onomatopoeia: illustrated from works by Pope, Tennyson, and John Updike "He was an Einstein at problem solving": can you name the figure of speech that this exemplifies? Help from Thomas More to cut through the bluff and bluster and come to the truth of a proposition Evaluating arguments: exercises from Homer, Marcus Aurelius, Aeschylus, Boethius, Shakespeare, and Cardinal Newman In today's age of media manipulation, the precision and clarity of thought that this book gives you is essential to help you and your kids discern the truth behind all the bias and puffery of the daily news. Indispensable for homeschoolers, The Trivium: The Liberal Arts of Logic, Grammar, and Rhetoric is a terrific resource for students, teachers, and anyone -- no matter what your job or state in life -- who wants to become a better writer, speaker, and listener.

In today's Lewiston Tribune:

The controversial presence of New Saint Andrews College in the central business district here attracted a crowd of more than 120 people to a hearing before the seven-member Moscow Board of Adjustment.

The hearing addressed the college's application for a conditional-use permit that would ensure it remains in the historic Skattaboe Block building adjacent to Friendship Square.

By press time, the board had taken no action. City staff had recommended approval of the permit provided the college doesn't grow beyond its stated capacity of 200 students and 25 faculty, that the retail sales portion of the building be retained and that parking problems be mitigated.

More than 30 people, including NSA President Roy Atwood, spoke in favor of the conditional-use permit, while six spoke against it.

Those in favor generally said the private classical Christian school had been a good downtown neighbor that brought a new sense of vitality and business to the downtown area.

"We believe the college has been and should continue to be downtown by right," Atwood said. "The college has proved itself to be an excellent neighbor."

Those opposed were mainly downtown business owners who claimed the college caused major parking problems that drove retail customers away, robbed city government because of its tax-exempt status and set a dangerous precedent for other institutions, like the University of Idaho, Lewis-Clark State College, and North Idaho College, to seek similar downtown locations that should be preserved for retail business.

"You're going to drive all the downtown business out if you approve this," said Lewis Reed, owner of Basilios Steak and Seafood Ristorante located just across Friendship Square from New Saint Andrews. Reed said he will be closing his business because the parking problem is so bad.

"It's not the caliber of the school," Reed said, "it's the impact of the school."

Tom Bode, co-owner of the Moscow Hotel, agreed. "You have the power to require NSA to do a parking study," Bode told members of the board.

Bob Greene, owner of Bookpeople down the block from the college, said he feared the board would rubber stamp the status quo. "A conditional-use permit without conditions is not a conditional-use permit at all," he said. He urged the board to remand the application back to city staff for further study.

Rosemary Huskey, one of the more outspoken critics of the college's downtown location, said the city needs to be more proactive in its enforcement of zoning regulations and conditional-use permits, rather than reacting to complaints after the fact. She said she endorses the college and its students, as long as it is located somewhere other than downtown. {DMC: Since when did Huskey start endorsing the college and its students? She must really have had a change of heart over this year. Rose Huskey even acknowledged (under oath) that Logos School is an ''excellent educational institution''. }

Deanna Robins, manager of the Garden Lounge adjacent to the college, said she's lost business because of parking problems. "I do not believe that for the good of the economy of downtown, New Saint Andrews should be there."

Board Chairman Jon Wheaton, anticipating lengthy testimony from both sides, started the hearing by announcing that he would allow one person from each side to speak for 15 minutes, and everyone else would then get two minutes each.

"I want to get home in bed so I can get up in the morning," Wheaton quipped after imposing the rule. At least four people complained, saying more time was needed to address the issues.

None of the testimony touched on what had been said in other public forums -- that New Saint Andrews College was an extension of Pastor Doug Wilson and Christ Church. Wilson testified, jesting that he'd like to use a pseudonym, then thanking the board and other city staff for the work they've done on the conditional-use permit application.

John Grauke, a Moscow physician, offered some levity amid the mostly serious testimony when he endorsed the college. He said New Saint Andrews brought in students who get sick and play games like rugby, which result in broken bones, and help support the medical community.

Michigan is about to join a handful of states that require tough high school classes for graduation, but many others are considering it, too -- motivated by the fear that China and India's kids are quickly bypassing U.S. students.

Studies have shown that middle school students would choose visiting the dentist or taking out the trash over taking algebra, but those a few years out of high school say they wish they had taken harder classes to be better prepared for work and college, Mike Cohen, president of Achieve Inc., Monday told a group at the 11th annual Governor's Education Summit in Lansing.

Cohen said five states -- Texas, Arkansas, Indiana, South Dakota and Oklahoma -- have adopted tougher graduation requirements. Achieve says those standards will make students ready for college or for jobs that don't require a four-year degree but will pay at least $25,000 and have opportunities for advancement.

Michigan, Kentucky and New York will soon follow, and a dozen other states are considering it, he said.

"You are not alone. The country is moving in the same direction,'' Cohen said. His nonprofit group is a bipartisan effort by business leaders and governors to raise student achievement.

In Michigan, legislation requiring core classes -- including Algebra I and II and chemistry or physics -- is expected to be finalized today and sent to Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who said she will sign it.

Granholm told the estimated 1,000 educators in attendance that making the standards statewide will help push kids to the harder course work.

"Let the state be the bad guy. Let the state set expectations high and parents won't have to battle it,'' she said.

KQQQ carried an audio report this morning about the New Saint Andrews College Conditional Use Permit being approved.

It was a long Board of Adjustment meeting, running from 7:00-12:00 pm last night. There where about 5-7 people against NSA, and the rest where for.

The room was packed, new chairs brought, and there were still people in the hall.

Parking is a red herring. I've never seen the Jackson Street lot completely filled -- except for Saturday mornings.

Listen Here.

Update: I had a gentleman email me with the following observation:

Parking is particularly a red herring when raised by owners of resteraunts and bars.  Their customers come mainly in the evening.  But that is after classes.  (Yes they get some customers for lunch, but Basillios is not a lunch place.

Picture courtesy of Daniel Foucachon

I resent the tone of moral superiority affected by Joan and Keely regarding the alternative high school.  "Throw-away kids" is not a term, or a concept, used by anyone I know.  Those of us who have advocated running a bond levy to rebuild West Park and Russell without the alternative high school thought that plan would get more votes, and it's too bad the school district didn't include that option on the survey so we could find out.

Keely thinks that tactic would be "viciously pragmatic," but I ask, is it more harmful to kids to pass a levy that solves some problems, or to fail one levy after another and solve none?

The list of desirable improvements in the schools is far too long for voters to be willing to fund them all right now.  So should we prioritize and try to eke out a 2/3 majority for something, or refuse to support any proposal that doesn't include someone's favorite project?

Jack Porter

From EIA:

About 300 years before Machiavelli, the Byzantine historian John Kinnamos wrote: "Since many and various matters lead toward one end, victory, it is a matter of indifference which one use to reach it."

I thought of that quote today while I was sifting through the news, and came across a New York Times story describing the situation in Texas, where, the argument goes, schools need more money because of increasing enrollment.

"The state's problem is that its schools, growing by up to 80,000 students a year, desperately need more money, but finding that money is nearly impossible with no state income tax and strict limits on how high property taxes can rise," the Times reported.

A few minutes later, I came across a column from the Arkansas News Bureau, which argued that schools there need more money because of decreasing enrollment.

"So, a district that was poor to begin with, with lower teacher salaries and lower student test scores than the prosperous areas of the state, is supposed to extract nearly $300,000 from its annual budget. Yet there's not much flexibility in the costs of salaries, transportation and utilities. Those will be pretty much the same year to year, even higher via inflation, with or without 50 youngsters. You end up cutting funding to the students who are left in the poor districts, and who were underprivileged already," columnist John Brummett wrote.

It's apparent that there's little connection between spending and performance. These two-sided arguments persuade me that there's little connection between spending and enrollment. This leads to the obvious question: Is there a connection between spending and anything at all?

From The Education Intelligence Agency.

[T]here's an enormous need for the district to educate people on a few simple facts that some blogmeisters would rather they not know.

The basic source of data for the analysis is the data submitted for the Annual Statistical Report 2002-03 (Staffing) published by the Idaho Department of Education. (http://www.sde.state.id.us/finance/docs/annualstats/AnnualStatisticalReport2002-2003.PDF) The Report "is based on personnel information submitted by each school district in the fall of 2002. Salary information for both certified and non-certified staff was supplied for the 2002-2003 school year". The Report is a statewide summary for all school districts and does not contain data for each individual school district, but the Department of Education made available MSD's data submission for the Report. Comparisons are made between the wage data in MSD's submission and the identical data for all school districts in the state and contained in the published Report.

Comparable private sector data were obtained from the Idaho Department of Labor' Occupational Employment and Wages survey for 2001/2002 for North Idaho. (http://cl.idaho.gov/lmi/wage-survey/TOC004.htm)

Benefits data were obtained from MSD and are for the SY 2003-04.

Comparisons with State Averages.

The Report has data for 30 classifications of non-certified employees. There were comparable entries for both the state and MSD for twenty-one of the thirty classifications. These are shown in the table (MSD non-Certified Employee Salaries) and spread sheet (Unclassified_Pay.xls). Columns B and C of this table show, respectively, the hourly wage paid by MSD and the total salary payments for each classification. For example, Janitors were paid an average of $11.38/hour and the total wage payment to janitors was $358,800. Dividing the latter by the former allows one to calculate the implicit number of hours worked by janitors (31,529).

Columns D and E of the Table show the same data for the state as a whole for the same job classifications. There, on the average, janitors were paid $10.33/hour. Using the implicit number of hours worked by MSD janitors then allows the calculation of what MSD's salary payments would have been had the District paid the state average wage: $325,695. Columns F and G show the difference ($33,105) and the percentage difference (9.23%), respectively, between what MSD paid and what the District would have paid had the state average wage for janitors been paid. The same calculations are made for all twenty-one job classifications.

MSD paid more than the state average for 18 of the 21 job classifications. The difference in total wage payments amounted to $359,505, or 13.22%.

Comparisons with the Private Sector

For two reasons, 13.22% probably understates the degree of excessive wage payments by MSD. First, the state data are dominated by school districts in southern Idaho, especially in the Boise area where wages are generally higher. Second, due to their common, monopoly, competitive situation, all school districts in the state may pay more than the private sector, so comparisons among them mean little for computing the potential savings from more efficient personnel pay policies. Thus, a more relevant comparison would be between what MSD paid non-certified employees and what the District would have paid if it had paid wages comparable to those in the private sector in North Idaho.

Columns H through J in the table show comparable calculations and comparisons with the private sector in North Idaho. It was not possible to find comparable job classifications for nine of the 21 classifications. This is usually because there are no comparable jobs in the private sector for, say, Instructional Assistants (teachers' aides). The basis for the determination of private sector comparable job classifications was judgmental and reasonable. In a few cases, as for janitors, comparable classifications were very close. In other cases and average of wages across several similar private sector classifications were used.

The results show that, compared to the wages paid in the private sector in North Idaho, MSD paid $368,439 (22.08%) more in wages than what comparable employees received in the private sector for the twelve job classifications shown. Generalized across all non-certified employment costs, this analysis suggests that there considerable savings available for the more efficient management of MSD.

Teachers' Aides

The extent to which benefits add to the pay of unclassified employees can be seen by an analysis of teachers' aides. Aides work 1000-1100 hours per year at an average hourly wage of about $11.40/hr. MSD's wage is about 16-17% higher than the state average. There are no comparable job classifications in the private sector. In SY 2003-04 the average MSD salary for aides was $12,837. Current benefits averaged $355/month, or $4259 per year. Deferred benefits--FICA and PERSI -average $2652 per year. Total compensation is thus averages $19,749 annually. For the average employee, benefits amount to an additional 54.8% of salary. To the extent these benefits are typical of other unclassified employees, MSD not only pays considerably more for these employees than both the rest of the state and the private sector, but benefits also are particularly generous.

Coming next: A comparison of MSD's teachers' pay.

My fear would be that anything that a elementry school teacher thinks is not "nice" will end up being the standard by which all discourse must be measured. Everyone must run around cooing like Mr. Rogers or be judged a bully. Assertive personalities report to the principals office at once.

In today's Lewiston Tribune:

MOSCOW -- The University of Idaho moved a step closer to hiring a new College of Education dean by naming three finalists Monday.

Paul Rowland, Carole de Casal and Penny Hammrich will interview in Moscow, Coeur d'Alene and Boise over the next few weeks.

One of them will replace interim Dean Jeanne Christiansen, who has held that position since 2002.

Rowland is dean of the School of Education at the University of Montana. His previous experience includes administrative and faculty positions at Northern Arizona University, where he spent 14 years.

The UI listed multicultural education, science and health education as Rowland's areas of expertise.

Currently an assistant dean at four of the five colleges in the University of Southern Mississippi system, de Casal has also worked at Winthrop University (South Carolina), the University of Texas at Austin, and Arizona State University.

She specializes in law and policy, bilingual education and discrimination issues, according to the UI.

Hammrich is dean and professor of education at Queens College, part of the City University of New York. According to the UI, she has held faculty, researcher, scholar and administrative positions around the country and in England. She specializes in science education, urban education and educational psychology.

Rowland will interview on the Moscow campus today and Wednesday, de Casal the week of April 10 and Hammrich the week of April 17.

Complete candidate bios and interview schedules for the other cities are available on the Web at http:/www.provost.uidaho.edu.