Moscow Education (Idaho)

HT: Matt W.

The following letter to the editor appeared in today’s Moscow-Pullman Daily News:

Thie's action not appreciated

Past deeds are usually a good indicator of future actions. With that said, I wish to remind the residents of Latah County of the past deeds of Brian Thie, a candidate for prosecuting attorney. It was Thie who filed the lawsuit against the Moscow School District. It is true he was acting at the request of his client, but it is also true that, as a private attorney, he did not have to accept the case, and thus he endorsed the actions of his client.

Thie has been promising change if elected. Based on past actions, I'm not sure these are the type of changes the residents of Latah County want or need.

Edward Christian, Moscow

I don’t normally disagree with Ed Christian.

But I do have to ask the question: does a private attorney always agree with and endorse his client’s perspective?

I’m not convinced of that, Ed.

According to Education Trust, Nevada has set their graduation rate goal at 50%.

Welcome to the state of Nevada, where all manner of sins are legal and the statewide high school graduation rate goal is 50 percent. In other words, as long as your odds of graduating are better than what you get when you slap down $20 on red at the roulette wheel, you’re doing fine. Alaska chose 55.58%, because apparently 56% even was just too heavy a cross to bear. And so on.

Other states have been a little more clever. Instead of setting the bar at knee height, they adopt a putatively high bar but give schools centuries to get there. Maryland, for example, theoretically has a 90% graduation rate goal. But it will accept any improvement as sufficient progress, even 0.01%. At that rate, the state’s African-American students will all be graduating by the year 3117, by which time we’ll all be cursing in Mandarin Serenity-style and learning will take place via coaxial cables jammed into the back of your head.

Well, NCLB requires 100% proficiency by 2008.

Let’s hope that Nevada makes that lofty goal, and at least 50% of all their government schooled kids actually graduate.

But what can we expect when we only spend $10,000 per child per year. Perhaps if we double that spending, a few more will actually graduate (tongue firmly implanted in cheek).

The results of this study from Mathematica is counter-intuitive:

Findings from the first year showed that although treatment group teachers received significantly more mentoring, received more guidance on instructional practices, and spent more time in certain professional activities than did control group teachers, there were no impacts on teacher practices, based on in-classroom observations of literacy lessons. In addition, the more intensive support had no positive impact on student test scores or teacher retention in the first year.

One would think that mentoring and intense support would make some kind of measurable difference.

Economists would argue that we need to look at the incentives and marginal costs.

For teachers, there are no incentives to do better or be better.

• One teacher doesn’t give any homework, gives 4 exams a year, and everyone gets an “A”
• Another teacher grades homework daily, tests every two weeks, and the class average is a “B”

Both are payed the exact same because they both have taught the same number of years and both have the same educational level. But the second teacher actually teaches and gets results. The first is “ROAD” (retired on active duty, as we say in the navy).

The system demoralizes excellent teachers and encourages slothful teachers.

Until we fix the perverse incentives, things will only get worse.

According to J.P. Greene, Florida tripled the number of Hispanic and African-American students passing one or more AP exams with a program that included financial incentives for schools and teachers.

As I’ve said many times before, there will be no betterment of our government schools until the taxpayers realize that the teachers unions have no desire nor incentive to see students do better. The worse the students do, the more money taxpayers give them.

Wash, rinse, repeat.

That’s a perverse, reverse incentive for success.

And we see the results in spades: the highest cost of education in the world with the lowest results in the west.

From the Associated Press:

“What’s going on right now in our high schools is that kids, lots and lots of minority kids, don’t get to the 10th grade. Rome is burning.”

—US Secretary of Education, Margaret Spellings, Associated Press

And the solution by the progressives? Throw more money into the sinking ship.

Adam Schaeffer over at the Cato Institute is thinking along the same line that I’ve been posting about here.

Of course, he says it much more eloquently than I have.

From Cato-at Liberty:

The Washington Post reports today that the bad economy is forcing budget cuts for the Fairfax County school district. The cuts could include “no cost-of-living raise for teachers, an increase in class size and elimination of such services as busing to centers for gifted and talented students.”

Consider the fact that Fairfax spends around $16,000 on every student (when you add the goodies they leave out), I’d say it’s about time for a more efficient use of funds.

But if the school district really wants to save big bucks for taxpayers and not even have to increase class size or freeze teacher pay, there’s a sure-fire way: education tax credits.

The median tuition at a private school only runs around $4,500. If Virginia allowed tax credits for education, they could save more than $10,000 or every student who switched from public to private school.

A recent Cato fiscal analysis showed that 5 different states could each save billions with a robust education tax credit program.

Maybe Virginia policymakers should turn their attention from haphazard emergency budget cuts to a system of school choice that brings a massive and systemic increase in efficiency and improves education at the same time.

Education is the #1 expense in the Idaho State budget (then add into that property taxes, etc) — nearly 50% of the state budget.

Idaho could cut it’s expenses by 25% overnight by offering an education tax credit program.

And the competition would force the government schools to be competitive — a win-win for parents and kids.

From the Associated Press:

Turmoil in the stock market has eroded the endowments of the state's two largest universities by as much as 12 percent since last year, according to the private foundations that manage assets for the schools.

Boise State University's endowment - money and other financial assets donated to the school to invest - shrunk to $87 million in September, a 12 percent drop since July 2007, said Howard Smith, university vice president for advancement.

…

The University of Idaho reports its endowment held $176 million in June 2008, a loss of more than 8 percent from June 2007. The total assets the foundation manages for the school fell nearly 8 percent overall, from $235 million in June 2007 to $216 million in June 2008.

University of Idaho Foundation officials declined to comment on the status of the school endowment since June 30. The Dow Jones Industrial Average has lost 28 percent of its value since then.

The following article ran in today’s Lewiston Tribune.

Peter Hitchens, a columnist for London's Daily Mail, will speak to students at New Saint Andrews College on Friday at the Nuart Theater in downtown Moscow.

The address will be given at 3 p.m., and the public is invited.

Hitchens, who is known for his moral and cultural conservatism, will respond to questions on a variety of topics in an on-stage interview format.

His brother, Christopher Hitchens, is a prominent atheist who recently debated NSA board member and senior fellow Douglas Wilson in an online forum conducted by Christianity Today.

And Christopher Hitchens and Douglas Wilson are on a speaking tour in the east even as I post this.

If Moscow schools are safe, why do they need to hire a full-time police officer?  

As reported in today’s edition of the Moscow-Pullman Daily News.

Moscow Police Officer Rick Whitmore will continue to have a full-time presence in the Moscow School District as "school resource officer."

The Moscow School Board approved a memorandum of understanding with the police department Tuesday, acknowledging the department's "gift" of Whitmore to the district.

The Latah County Youth Advisory Commission gave the department a grant to send Whitmore to school resource officer training in Kalispell, Mont., and pay his first year of membership fees to the National Association of School Resource Officers.

Whitmore has functioned as school resource officer since the start of the school year. He has been patrolling crosswalks, attending school functions and sporting events in uniform, and providing a police presence on Third Street when high school students are dismissed.

Whitmore also will teach classes tailored to each grade of students, beginning with playground safety for kindergartners, and how to call 911 for first-graders. He'll also teach classes on how to be a good witness, Internet safety and drug safety.

Whitmore said he believes the position already has made a difference in student safety and the way students view law enforcement. 

Curtain time is at 7:30 pm.

This is a not-to-miss production. Logos drama at its best.

Don't you know that the NRA is just a front organization for the KKK?

—KRFP, Radio Free Moscow

Welcome to the People’s Republic of Moscow. Just mainstream liberals in this town…

A press release from Bob Hieronymus, Executive Vice President of Administration and Advancement at New Saint Andrews College:

British columnist to speak at NSA

Peter Hitchens, a columnist for London's Daily Mail newspaper, will address students at New Saint Andrews College on Friday, October 31, at 3:00 p.m. at the Nuart Theater in downtown Moscow. The public is invited.

Mr. Hitchen's will be responding to questions on a variety of topics in an on-stage interview format. While Peter Hitchens is noted for his moral and cultural conservatism, his brother Christopher is a prominent atheist who recently debated College board member and Senior Fellow Douglas Wilson. The college's weekly Disputatio meetings are designed in part for students to engage with people from all religious and ideological backgrounds.

From today's Spokesman Review.

A former University of Idaho employee claims a “hostile” environment toward older workers on the Moscow campus forced her into early retirement.

Lillian Hatheway, 66, is suing the university in an age discrimination lawsuit filed Wednesday in Latah County District Court. Hatheway was an administrative assistant in the Department of English before she retired Sept. 12 because of what she calls “intolerable working conditions that had placed her health at risk.”

She is seeking more than $10,000 in damages, which includes money that she would have earned had she remained employed at the university, according to court documents.

Attorney Scott Gingras is representing Hatheway in her case against the university and said her performance evaluations went from “outstanding” three years ago to “needs improvement” in 2006. Hatheway received another poor evaluation earlier this year, which made her ineligible for a raise in salary.

“Lillian received great evaluations and all of a sudden the attitude changed and she couldn’t do anything right,” Gingras told The Moscow-Pullman Daily News.

The university does not comment on current or pending litigation, said university spokeswoman Tania Thompson.

The lawsuit against the university highlights text from a 2006 speech given on campus by former president Tim White.

In a “State of the University” address, White said: “when we get to that point in life where we’re not as productive, where it’ll help the university and our program that we care so deeply about, recruit a young entry-level or mid-career person (it) is time to get out of the way.”

In her lawsuit, Hathaway also alleges that the chairman of the English department, Kurt Olsson, made disparaging remarks about older workers in 2006 and 2007, as well as expressing a desire to hire “young and energetic” employees.

“Ultimately what she’s seeking for is justification and vindication of her rights — to be heard,” Gingras said.

Two years ago, another former employee filed a similar lawsuit against the university. Isabel Bond, 75, also alleges that she was pressured to retire and given negative performance evaluations.

The President of WSU sent out the following email:

We must not be a community that merely "tolerates" diversity or "accepts" diversity, but a community that celebrates the diversity of its members. We learn from people with different points of view and life experiences. When any segment of our population is targeted, is marginalized, is silenced, we all are the poorer for it.

Notice how the political rhetoric has shifted from “tolerance” to “accepting” to “celebrating.”

It’s one thing to ask people to tolerate differences. It’s a whole different thing to tell people that they must both accept and celebrate those differences. And if someone doesn’t accept and tolerate it, they will be sent to indoctrination seminars.

The following is from the online edition of the Lewiston Tribune.

Lewis-Clark State College President Dene Thomas told the Lewiston Tribune this morning that she is not a candidate for the University of Idaho presidency.

"I'm not going to apply," Thomas said. 

Our students are told they are smart; they cost us an arm-and-leg to not educate; and we spend more on education per student than any other country in the world.

I hope it’s a wake-up call to these kids when they get to college that they have been lied to; and that when they vote, they will do something about it rather than throw more taxpayer money down the toilet.

From Joanne Jacobs.

Four out of five college students in remedial classes had a 3.0 average or better in high school, notes Michael Kirst’s College Puzzle blog, citing Diploma to Nowhere by Strong American Schools. Ninety-five percent said they did all or most of their assigned high school work. Eighty percent had assumed they were ready for college.

Surprise!

The cost of remediation for each student is estimated at $2,000 for two-year and $2,531 for four-year public colleges. These are the high range estimates, but seem low to me.

Colleges need to publicize how many students from local high schools end up in remedial classes. How many were “B” students?

This is the first of many right steps. From Gov. Palin.

“In a McCain-Palin administration, we will put the educational choices for special needs children in the right hands — their parents’. Under reforms that I will lead as vice president, the parents and caretakers of children with physical or mental disabilities will be able to send that boy or girl to the school of their choice — public or private.

Under our reforms, federal funding for every special needs child will follow that child. Some states have begun to apply this principle already, as in Florida’s McKay Scholarship program. That program allows for choices and a quality of education that should be available to parents in every state, for every child with special needs.”

Perhaps unschooling is the only way for the US to stay competitive in the education arena.

Via Cato:

A new study by the American Institutes for research compares the performance of 11 large U.S. districts to that of countries participating in the international mathematics test known as ”TIMSS 2003.” As with earlier international comparisons, American kids do better the less time they have spent in school.

At the 4th grade, the earliest one tested, three of the 11 U.S. districts (Charlotte, Austin, and San Diego) score above the average of OECD countries participating in the test. (The OECD is a group of 30 or so nations, most of which are wealthy and industrialized, but a few of which are less wealthy transitional economies). By the 8th grade, the top two large U.S. districts (Charlotte and Austin) included in the report scored at the overall average of the participating OECD countries.

But the above results overstate the U.S. districts’ achievement. That’s because many industrialized countries that typically outscore us (France, Germany, Canada, Ireland, Finland, Switzerland, Iceland and Poland) did not participate in the TIMSS 2003 test. When the U.S. is compared specifically to other wealthy nations, it peforms worse than the AIR report will lead readers to believe. Finally, U.S. performance continues to deteriorate as students progress through high school, and so the absence of high-school test results also gives an inflated impression of relative U.S. performance.

In a nutshell, even two of the top large school districts in America can barely tread water internationally, when compared to students in other industrialized nations.

On October 21st, nearly 350 students dedicated Foundations Academy freshly poured foundation by recreating five huge masterpieces on it with artists chalk. All reproductions, ranging from 20 x 15 to 20 x 30, were created in under three hours for a time-lapse video. Paintings include: Mona Lisa (Leonardo da Vinci), George Washington (unfinished - Stuart), American Gothic (Wood), A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte (Seurat), and Starry Night (van Gogh). Each student in grades k-12 was involved and most drew a two-foot square section of their painting with special artists chalk. The event filmed by Sidewayz, an award-winning film company, was produced for YouTube. A crane mounted camera created an overhead image. The projects art director was Karen Woods and logistics were handled by Lori Richter.

Foundations Academy is a sister-school to Moscow’s Logos School.

As reported in today’s edition of the Moscow-Pullman Daily News.

The University of Idaho presidential search committee is keeping mum about potential candidates, though it will say who definitely is not on the list.

Idaho State Board of Education spokesman Mark Browning said current UI President Steven Daley-Laursen is not in the running for the permanent position.

"The regents made it very clear that an interim president would not be considered for the permanent position," Browning said.

The committee met Monday morning via conference call, but descriptions of the discussion were vague.

Browning said the committee went over the general progress of the search and has not yet begun to discuss specific names.

Browning said protecting applicants' identities is "paramount" in presidential searches. 

From Idaho’s First Congressional District Representative, Bill Sali:

Today, a group of students banded together in order to spread awareness for the important works Congressman Bill Sali has done to improve the lives of college students in Idaho.  

Loren Pounds, a co-chair of College Students for Sali and President of NNU College Republicans spoke on the importance of Congressman Sali's record, "Congressman Sali has fought to keep taxes low, he wants to reduce the size of government and give each and every college student, regardless of their background, the opportunity to lead their own lives free of burdens from needless government regulations."

Loren added, "Sali is in a tough race against Walt Minnick - Minnick has been misleading college students about being a conservative and it is important that we set the record straight."

Erin Carr, also a co-chair of College Students for Sali echoed Loren's remarks in saying, "Congressman Sali voted against the Wall Street Bailout plan twice.  He not only talks about voting against deficit spending - his record proves it."

College Students for Sali are made up of college students from around the state of Idaho.  As of October 21st, their membership includes the following:

Co-Chairs:

 

Erin Carr, U of I

Brad Griff, U of I

Loren Pounds, U of I

Members:

Jodi Fisher, U of I

Joy Hirata, U of I

Brandi Epus, U of I

Laszlo Suto, U of I

Josh Schroeder, U of I

Andrea Dodger, U of I

Joella Dirham, U of I

Jacob Schroeder, U of I

Casey Attebery, U of I

Casey Lund, U of I

Mark Morgan, U of I

Jon Sawmiller, U of I

Mark Hunting, U of I

Michelle Potter, U of I

Lincoln Smyser U of I

Logan Smyser U of I

Liza McGeachin U of I

Matt Bujarski, U of I

Nicole Darty, U of I

Luke Malek, U of I

Robert Jacobs, U of I

Jimmie Hitch, U of I

Mark Ackerman, U of I

Jeff Ramsey, U of I

Mark Coey, U of I

Debbie Holston, NNU

Sarah Lawer, NNU

Amanda Suarez, NNU

Bailey Janda, NNU

Ashley Etchison, NNU

Lloyd Pounds, NNU

Sam Hart, NNU

Jordan Scott, NNU

Andrew Olsen, NNU

Josh Wies, NNU

Sam Rawlins, NNU

Elizabeth Ann Beasty, NNU

Ryne Corbeil, NNU

Valerie Joy Banania, NNU

Chris Shea, NNU

Luke Haley, NNU

Tony Napier, NNU

Brandon Johnson, NNU

Nathaniel Leslie, NNU

Luke Massey, NNU

Dustin Hurst, BSU

Bryan Ricker, BSU

Jun-sung Hwang, BSU

Matthew Keenan, BSU

Trevor Grigg, BSU

Jeff Thomsen, BSU

Brett Jones, BSU

Scott Simpson, BSU

Brittney Jarvis, BYU Idaho

Carly Ward, BYU Idaho

Brett Becklund, BSU

Jeremy York, ITT Tech

 

 To join College Students for Sali, contact Noah Wall at 208-871-6011 or by email at noah.wall@billsali.com 

The following letter to the editor appeared in today’s Lewiston Tribune:

With no brake

Like toxic waste oozing from a dumpsite, anti-American verbiage leaks from Moscow's liberals at an alarming rate.

The latest pedo-oral zinger popped out of Moscow High Principal Bob Celebrezze and will undoubtedly grab the attention of conservative talk radio and be batted about like a pinata at Spazzfest.

For those who missed it, in Wednesday's Tribune [Oct. 15], Mr. Celebrezze had the gall to say that dropping a year of American history (two are standard) from high school requirements was justified in that "only 5 percent of the world's population is from the U.S." At the same time I'm hearing that since only 5 percent of Moscow wears socks, the Wal-Mart up there has stopped selling them.

I suppose (given the slant of Idaho politics) that Bob will next lobby to remove Idaho history from the junior high due simply to numerical insignificance. Funny thing that Liberals are all about minorities unless it's American, or conservative or white male.

Actually, I feel sorry for Bob on two counts: First, he was probably railroaded into the decision. Second and more significant, he did what we all have done. He spoke with no brake and in so doing made a sticky situation stickier.

On the positive side, it's a little easier removing your foot from your mouth when you don't wear socks.

Greg Billups
Weippe 

As I’ve said before, I know how to cut the Idaho budget in half over night, and how to make everyone happy at the same time.

From The Olympian:

MOSCOW, Idaho – An Idaho lawmaker says he's concerned with how well an education reserve fund will hold up after Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter ordered public schools to cut $14 million and delay another $21 million in spending.

Public schools were among the state agencies Otter ordered in September to cut 1 percent in immediate spending and hold an additional 1.5 percent in reserves over worries that the economy will worsen.

The state Department of Education will rely on an education reserve fund state lawmakers created in 2003 to make up for any cuts in public school spending.

But if agency uses the full 2.5 percent - the 1 percent holdback and 1.5 percent in reserves - it could drain the $115 education fund by as much as $35 million, or 30 percent.

State Rep. Tom Trail, R-Moscow, says the education fund offers Idaho public schools protection, but the money won't last forever and he is concerned how well the state will be able to replenish these reserves.

I’m running a bit behind in getting some of these posts out.

At the final presidential debate, Bob Schieffer targeted the last question to education:

The question is this: the U.S. spends more per capita than any other country on education. Yet, by every international measurement, in math and science competence, from kindergarten through the 12th grade, we trail most of the countries of the world.

The implications of this are clearly obvious. Some even say it poses a threat to our national security.

Do you feel that way and what do you intend to do about it?

Great, great question. I really hope that all Americans watching fully took that in.

In response to the voucher question, McCain said

I’m sure you’re aware, Senator Obama, of the program in the Washington, D.C., school system where vouchers are provided and there’s a certain number, I think it’s a thousand and some and some 9,000 parents asked to be eligible for that.

Because they wanted to have the same choice that you and I and Cindy and your wife have had. And that is because they wanted to choose the school that they thought was best for their children.

And we all know the state of the Washington, D.C., school system. That was vouchers. That was voucher, Senator Obama. And I’m frankly surprised you didn’t pay more attention to that example.

Mike Petrilli translated into English:

“This is a program for 2,000 desperately poor families—families that have decided that private or parochial schools are the best fit for their children. It costs a mere pittance. But you would take this option away from those families, even when the Democratic mayor of Washington supports it, even when two former Democratic mayors support it, even when the superintendent of schools supports it, even when you send your own children to an elite private school? For those 2,000 children, vouchers are a lifeline, and you would cut it off?”

And regarding D.C. Schools Chancellor (and staunch Democrat) Michelle Rhee’s position on vouchers and the election, Jeff Chu interviewed her:

Rhee hasn’t shown much enthusiasm for either candidate, but told me earlier this year that McCain has the much stronger education policy from her point of view. "He isn’t great, but he hasn’t said he’s going to throw NCLB out—and now everyone who says I’m a right-wing wingnut is going to be like, 'I knew it!'" she said.

As for Obama, she told me in May that what he might do on education policy "terrifies me," even though she’s a staunch Democrat. She criticized his stance on No Child Left Behind, which she portrayed as “an ‘NCLB is evil, sucking the life out of teachers’ angle. It’s a total victim mentality.” (Obama did voice support for charters, which won’t be good news for his hard-core union supporters.)

Education should have been the topic of discussion in the 2008 Presidential debates. But the evil and stupid parties want to either throw more money at the problem or pretend like it doesn’t exist.

Let me get this straight: Pennsylvania lawmakers want the suppliers of electricity to get their customers to cut their usage?

They could always do what other socialist countries do: have rolling brown-outs and blackouts….

From Yahoo! News:

Pennsylvania has begun a major effort to cut electricity use, requiring the state's 11 utilities to not only stop power usage from rising, but to cut it starting in 2011.

Legislation that Gov. Ed Rendell signed Wednesday requires the utilities to cut annual electricity usage by at least 1 percent by May 31, 2011, based on usage estimates made by state regulators, who can take into account a major anomaly, such as an unusually hot summer or a substantial surge in demand from a new user, such as a factory.

To ensure that utilities take the task seriously, the new law allows up to $20 million in penalties for failure to meet the benchmarks for electricity usage cuts.

"That certainly should get the companies to look at what's been going on around the country and adopt some of the more successful programs," said Sonny Popowsky, the state's utility consumer advocate and a supporter of the new law.

Utilities will have to find ways to get people and businesses to use less electricity on the hottest summer days, when electricity is the most expensive. That could include enrolling the owners of homes and office buildings in a program to temporarily switch off hot water heaters or air conditioners.

HT: RFB

The following is from the online edition of the Lewiston Tribune.

Washington State University released an incident report today that described a "very tense, even hostile" Sept. 10 meeting between then-Provost Steven Hoch and senior WSU administrators.

The meeting ended with Vice President for Business and Finance Greg Royer pushing Hoch out of his way, according to witness accounts in the
report.

The report said that everyone who attended the meeting blamed Hoch for the tone of the meeting.

"These witnesses describe Provost Hoch as disrespectful, rude, condescending and arrogant," according to the report, which was prepared by WSU's division of the state attorney general's office. "These witnesses indicate that Provost Hoch approached his colleagues as if they were stupid and as if they were the enemy or part of the problem with WSU, demonstrating that he did not value their opinions or value them as professionals."

But in the report, Hoch and two witnesses who attended the meeting via video conference said neither Hoch's tone nor behavior was inappropriate.

"Both of these witnesses characterize V.P. Royer's conduct during the meeting as unprofessional and uncalled for," according to the report.

Hoch was relieved from his duties as provost and executive vice president of the Pullman campus last week, and returned to his family home in Kentucky. He is set to join the WSU faculty as a tenured history professor, however, at a $245,000 annual salary, nine-elevenths of his $300,000 provost salary, as per his employment contract.

In a telephone interview from Kentucky, Hoch said tensions with Royer, budget director Joan King and research vice president Howard Grimes started in June, seven weeks before he officially came to campus.

He said Royer told him the title of executive vice president meant nothing to him, King said he should stick to academics and stay out of budget issues, and Grimes said he reported to WSU President Elson Floyd, not Hoch.

"At that point, I should have never come to WSU," Hoch said.

Royer released a statement today defending his position.

"I can no longer stay silent while Steve Hoch assassinates my character in the community I have served for nearly 40 years," Royer wrote. "After a senior staff meeting on September 10, during which Hoch demeaned and offended nearly everyone in the room, Hoch pursued me out the door, physically cut me off, and threatened me. I pushed him from my personal space. I did make comments to him in the face of his aggression. Hoch's misleading statements have caused great pain for my family and me."

More WSU academicians acting like children.

Is this what happens when you turn professional educrats into administrators?

It’s great to see senior academicians acting like adults.

It just reinforces behavior we’ve seen from other WSU faculty (right Prof. Joe?).

As reported in today’s edition of the Moscow-Pullman Daily News.

Washington State University Vice president for Business and Finance Greg Royer told his side of the story about an incident involving him and WSU Provost Steven Hoch.

In an e-mail, Royer stated, "I can no longer stay silent while Steven Hoch assassinates my character in the community I have served for nearly 40 years." 

There’s a simple solution for this.

Give every parent who wants to op-out a $3,000 tax refund per child that needs to be in school.

Those parents who want their kids in government schools can leave their kids there. Those that don’t can shop elsewhere.

And the state of Idaho can pocket the difference in cost: $7,000 per child.

That would immediately balance the budget and provide a huge tax rebate to Idaho tax payers.

As reported in today’s edition of the Moscow-Pullman Daily News.

Local Idaho legislators and educators are concerned recent economic turmoil could reduce the money available for schools.

State Sen. Gary Schroeder, R-Moscow, said much of the state's resources for next year depend on the holiday retail season - a relationship that could affect funding for public education.

The funding program for Idaho schools was shifted from an education maintenance and operations levy to a 1-percent sales tax increase in 2006 during a special legislative session called by then-Gov. Jim Risch.

State Rep. Shirley Ringo, D-Moscow, said the tax shift placed more pressure on sales tax to provide funding for education.

You may remember that I was no fan of shifting to the sales tax option.

It continues to remove the accountability of the schools from local control.  

And, although Moscow taxpayers vote to throw as much money at MSD as it asks for, the day may come when we will say no by a majority.