Kuna $4,480
Falcon Ridge $5,555

Meridian $4,712
Compass $5,695

Meridian Charter $7,658
Medical Arts $7,588
North Star $6,205

Nampa $4,681
Liberty $6,414
Idaho Arts $5,793
Victory $5,698

Vallivue $4,789
Thomas Jefferson $6,403

Patrons in these districts should demand the state provide equal funding for all children. The gap between Liberty and Nampa is obscene and frankly immoral considering the poverty, language issues, and homelessness that the district’s schools must address every day. The same is true in Vallivue, Caldwell, and other Canyon County schools districts.

The at risk children in these district don’t have wealthly affluent parents who can start up a school or lobby lawmakers or line candidates’ pockets with contributions during elections.

The dilution of our local, state, and federal money is simply unacceptable in this massive deconsolidation of services.

First, the original post ignores that the state took schools off the property tax for general operations when Risch was governor. Some minor levies remain. School districts do tax property in order to build new schools, because unlike charters they cannot “cap” or turn away students when their buidings reach capacity. School districts should cap enrollment and then they, too could create artificial waiting lists to boast about.

The huge funding gap between what the district receives for a student and what the charter receives for a student creates an inequity worth suing the state over. Patrons and parents of children in the Nampa School District should file a class action lawsuit and demand equal funding. Parents of special needs students should be enraged at the levels of funding the charters receive for their upperclass, mostly white students.

Second, Nampa did consider converting one of its schools — Iowa — into the first Harbor Method School. This was rejected by the board, which at the time included Tom Luna, who was a vocal opponent. Since that time, the “founders” of these schools have not been proactive and reached out the the district to see if a school was available for conversion. Clearly, the current Harbor Method school did not explore this option. They used the holiday season to fast track their charter to the Idaho Charter School Commission refusing to answer questions about their proposal from the Nampa School Board. Charters avoid public accountability by going into debt financing buildings without even a vote of the taxpayers in their community. Where’s the transparency or even democracy in this system?

There must be reasons why this appears to never happen. Why do so many families want a Harbor School? If those reasons can be defended, why can’t the district experiment with a transition plan for one or more (if scale important) public schools?

bob b

Idaho school districts spent $22,000,000.00 in raises for teachers and administrators for the current school year.

Caldwell, Nampa and Vallivue spent a share of the $22 million.

They should not have.

They, the administrators and board members, knew that FY 2011 (next school year) would be a disaster financially.

They disregarded all of the information and used no fiscal restraint.

They should have held that $22 million to help offset the problems that they will have to overcome in the 2010/2011 school year.

They did not.

With regard to at least raises in Nampa, the Legislature authorized AND funded raises for teachers who earned additional education.Only 14 percent of teachers could even qualify because others were either too “new” or too “experienced.” Contrast that with Liberty Charter which gave a whopping 37 percent of their teachers a raise.

As for administrators, the “raises” were for staff who were promoted to jobs that required more responsibility. The district actually cut five administrators and will cut another next year.