Post-Labor Day, school is going full tilt. Here are a few miscellaneous education updates from around the state worth knowing about.
Education Reporters Call for Input
The Idaho Statesman and national investigative journalism outlet ProPublica are joining forces to shed light on Idaho public school’s facilities issues. Our state spends less on school infrastructure per student than any other state, and they’re hoping to find out how that affects students, teachers, and other school staff.
The outlets are asking readers to send in photos or videos of school facility problems, send the message to people in those schools, and generally learn as much as possible. Learn more about their reporting, and what they’re asking of the public.
Boise State University’s Biggest Donation Haul Yet
Last year, Boise State collected a record-breaking amount of financial donations from alumni and corporations. That bar was raised by $2 million this year, totaling $58.5 million in donations, including the largest anonymous donation for scholarships in the school’s history, and the athletics department took in seven gifts exceeding $1 million.
West Bonner Recall
Humor me with a trip to Idaho’s Panhandle for an update on former Idaho Sen. Branden Durst. After serving as a Democratic legislator in Boise, Durst swung to the right and worked for the Idaho Freedom Foundation before moving to take a job as the West Bonner School District superintendent. He’s never worked in a classroom.
Last week, voters recalled two of the far right board members who approved Durst by a wide margin, destabilizing support for his position as the district’s head. Idaho EdNews did some digging and found that it’s only Idaho’s fourth successful school board trustee recall in the last decade.
Note: At the time of writing on Friday afternoon, the school board had a special meeting planned for Friday evening. Its purpose looked a little ambiguous, but included the recalled board members.
