Congress may actually pass an economic stimulus bill this week, which is good news for the short-term needs of the country. There is no question the economy is tottering, and could easily tip over from recession to depression, so a bill that focuses on saving jobs and creating jobs is desperately needed. The good news is that the bill will definitely help achieve some of those aims. The bad news is that it will lay a crushing debt burden on taxpayers for the future, which can only be addressed if government becomes far more efficient in the use of tax dollars than it has in the past. That could very well force, down the road, what many of us have wanted for years, a smaller, more efficient government. But somehow, that doesn't seem likely. Because Congress hasn't figured out that the model for government is, and should be, changing. And the best example is the stimulus package. Despite billions of dollars in cuts, it still contains way too much pork. And some of the cuts (to make way for that pork) seem to make no sense, such as dropping $40 billion to help keep schools from having to fire teachers. That's counter-productive. The bill is supposed to save or create jobs, not leave them threatened. Both sides of the aisle bear the blame. The Democratic leadership rolled over on way too many pet projects among its members, losing sight of the long-term goal of the bill. And Republicans kept insisting on sticking to the same failed policies of the past, and playing the same old games where personal and party political power carried more weight than the needs of the nation. One GOP leader actually admitted his goal for the bill, and the amendments he introduced, were designed to divide the Democrats and make them look bad. So much for caring about the people of this country. Both parties should be ashamed. It is time for Congress to look up from its myopic and petty party power games, and its proclivity for pork, and look at the desperate state of the nation, focusing solely on programs that stand a good chance of meeting the goal of keeping people working. Making things work should be a bipartisan issue. This bill should be about America, not the Republican or Democratic parties. -- Kelly Everitt

School board had no choice

Posted Wednesday, September 18, 2013, at 8:19 AM

The Mountain Home School District has just imposed an emergency levy to help it deal with an unexpected influx of more than 100 students this year.

Nobody, including the board of trustees, likes to see taxes go up. But it's less than $2 a month for an average home in the district, which isn't that costly, and it will help keep class sizes to a tolerable level in some of the more crowded schools in the district.

It's too bad this has happened, but all across Idaho districts have had to reach into their bag of tricks to help keep their districts afloat because the Idaho Legislature just can't seem to bring itself to adequately support public education. This is what our lawmakers call local control. Force the districts to adopt fragile emergency levies so the legislature doesn't have to make the tough budget decisions adequate funding would require.

The school system in Idaho wasn't broken until the legislature decided to fix it. But there has been some significant damage since Tom Luna, who prefers home schooling and charter schools over public schools, became the state superintendent of education.

The Mountain Home School District, for example, had developed a series of high quality programs and curriculum that were inspiring students and improving test scores when Tim McMurtrey was curriculum director. About the time he became superintendent, the legislature started slashing funding to public schools or reallocating money to the semi-private charter schools (with their low student-to-teacher ratios) that are so beloved by Luna, and McMurtrey wound up overseeing the dismantling of all those programs he'd created (such as the team-teaching middle school concept).

His story was repeated all over the state as schools had to cut back programs to bare essentials, leaving few "enrichment" programs to help inspire students and prepare them for careers after high school. And as the funding disappeared, fewer teachers were hired and classroom sizes grew.

Yet the biggest factor to achieving quality education is low student-to-teacher ratios. The more one-on-one a teacher can give a student the better chance that student won't struggle as much in school. But two years ago, the state decided to ax 700 teachers state-wide and replace them with laptops. The voters objected and rejected that plan at the polls.

Nevertheless, the state didn't take the money it had planned on spending for laptops and return it to districts to hire back those teachers. Instead, it used the money to buy wi-fi and laptops for some select school districts. It was yet another a slap in the face to the voters by Luna and the Legislature.

The end result of the state's policies over the last five years is to drive school districts to the edge of financial destitution, forcing them to shift the funding burden from the state to the local property taxpayers. And that's why the district didn't have the reserves on hand to handle 100 extra students and was forced to adopt this emergency levy.

The local board is going to catch the flak, but the blame really lies, in the end, with the lack of support for education by the legislature.

-- Kelly Everitt

Comments

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Dear Editor:

The old statement, "lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part" is quite relevant to this Mountain Home emergency levy.

$2.00 is a small amount of money and if you X6 it as in $12 a month, the parents of the school children could easily take up the slack for we the people.

To throw the blame of this shortfall on the Idaho legislature is just plain deflection. Again, "lack of planning on your part [the legislature] does not constitute an emergency on my part.

If the school district wants more money, schedule a meeting, explain exactly why they need the money and justify it to the $2.00 a month tax payer. Now that is communication, that is how to ask for more money and that is the way it needs to be done. Of course holding a barrel of a gun to the taxpayers head is also another way to get the money. I just thought our teaching establishment understood communication was important. We'll see.

-- Posted by bondyweb on Wed, Sep 18, 2013, at 8:48 AM
I am confused. Over the past few years all we have heard is how teachers had to be laid off or let go, schools closed all due to a declining enrollment. Now all of a sudden they are over crowded and had to vote themsselves an EMERGENCY levy. As Bondyweb said, poor planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part. All I have seen from the MHSD is a hand out every year asking for more funds like we all have a never ending checkbook. My checkbook is empty and I wish I could vote myself an EMERGENCY levy. Oh wait, I can't since I am paying several levies for MHSD, the City, the County and WECRD plus many more. Thanks for thinking ahead MHSD.

-- Posted by B Mullen on Wed, Sep 18, 2013, at 10:45 AM
None of us like to see out taxes go up, especially in as economy such as we are experiencing at present. But as bondyweb stated, if the community were presented with the information before hand it wouldn't feel as much like robbery.

The last time(2006/2007 school year)an emergency leby was passed to support the school district the money was taken under the pretense of repairing a leaking roof at West Elementary and seveal other projects. I'm not sure where the money actually went but I've been told that the roof at West is still leaking.

-- Posted by TundraRat on Wed, Sep 18, 2013, at 2:29 PM
Kelly:

For gosh sakes man---pull your head out already! We have had decreased student numbers for at least the last 10 years. Your "charmed" MHSD and their unethical Board, in all of their wisdom, lived high on the hog---NEVER making cuts to reflect the lower numbers of students.

Then, at the first levy "hearings" the MHSD tried to lie about the numbers and said that the state calculated the students differently than the MHSD. Then they told the public that they needed a big fancy gym to comply with "state requirements." That was not true either. The list of lies goes on and on.

Get out of bed with the MHSD and the WECRD already and start to serve the people of this community. Paper sales would go up greatly if the "news" in this community was less one sided and more based on the facts---not what you would like it to be or what is PC.

-- Posted by OpinionMissy on Wed, Sep 18, 2013, at 3:23 PM
I don't have school age kids and I don't mind paying I do mind not being asked.Our legislature needs to be replaced or at least a good part of them. We are 49th in the rating of states for education, you would think that would be unacceptable.We cant keep our kids here because we cant meangfully employee them ,because we cant attract business of any upward flavor because our kids are not educated enough to staff them.We ought to be ashamed of ourselves.....and TOM LUNA should have been gone a long time ago.If you read the statesman today, the state has the money the legislature wont allote it.WHY???????? probally the real reason is they don't have to worry about educating there kids.....so in other words go to ........... How about anyone of them that consistently vote to take from education that we run and advertisement with there name on it asking WHY??????? I'll glady give 2 dollars towards that.

-- Posted by lamont on Wed, Sep 18, 2013, at 3:34 PM
Tom Luna has done and continues to do a lot of damage to Idaho's education system. He wants to put money into the Charter schools so that only "select" students get the money for their education. He and others like him, are keeping Idaho's education record to an embarrassing low.

-- Posted by Sam_1776 on Wed, Sep 18, 2013, at 3:49 PM
Sam, you are so full of it. You have no idea what you are talking about. You sound like Kelly now.

-- Posted by OpinionMissy on Wed, Sep 18, 2013, at 3:50 PM
Lamont---the local MHSD Board and Admin needs replaced. That is one of our most crooked organizations around.

-- Posted by OpinionMissy on Wed, Sep 18, 2013, at 3:58 PM
OM.....I tried to take the opportunity to talk about the entire school situation across the board.The question is did the town population grow?We know the base hasn't grown or did the children graduate to the next grade? Where did they come from???

The gymn I believe is part of title 9 and had to be built to be a junior high, to be a high school we would have to build a second gymn as per title 9. I was at the meeting for that building.The concept was to build the core building for a high school and make it one when the need arose.The objective for some of us was to save money for the tax payer because based on real numbers we did not need a new high school and it was a big weight tax wise.We were able to get the building without raising our taxes.Phil Gridley sr and I fought those people like hell to keep them from spending money they didn't have with no thought to people on fixed incomes or anything else for that matter.

The school board and the administration are both a click in my opinion.I sincerly believe things could be done better and with more for thought.There heart might be in the right place but they are very narrow minded.again in my opinion.

-- Posted by lamont on Wed, Sep 18, 2013, at 6:35 PM
OpinionMissy you sound like you need to examine the whole situation before making comments. Idaho schools, in order to be better as a whole need to be funded at the Idaho level not the local level. So Kelly is right on that.

We need to do that and not put our money into charter schools. Mountain Home schools should get a proportional funding that Boise schools get.

In regards to how the MHSD responded, I can't speak to that because I don't have enough information.

-- Posted by Sam_1776 on Wed, Sep 18, 2013, at 10:21 PM
Sam:

You should have all of the facts on the things the MHSD has pulled before you get too hung up on this, IMHO. Really research where your money is going and how it is/has been spent.

Yes Lamont, you are correct, they are one huge "click." They are a huge disservice to this community and the students they are supposed to serve.

At least charter schools are not, under the law, allowed to obtain a levy---they make it on what they get---or they do not make it. These jokers in the MHSD take, take, take. It is nothing but a con with them at every turn. Go in and look at their books, see what they are doing. The facts are shocking.

-- Posted by OpinionMissy on Thu, Sep 19, 2013, at 7:29 AM
Lamont, the numbers on where these kids came from is available from the District office. I know this for sure, the MHSD is NEVER factual with the public. If you do check into this, also check with the state. The info that the MHSD gives, rarely matches the state records. Wonder how that levy that has to be voted for/on will work for them now. It is all just one big sham. This is what happens when school teachers are hand picked to sit on the Board. They become yes men and women for Jim Alexander. Like little bobble heads.

-- Posted by OpinionMissy on Thu, Sep 19, 2013, at 7:34 AM
When you retire and have less income coming in you cut back, you don't go out and eat as much.

If you lose your job you cut back and don't take the vacation every year to Disneyland.

If you are the Mountain Home School Board you force the taxpayers to vote in more money via a TEMPORARY TWO year levy. Then you repeat every two years using the children as pawns to get more money for the corrupt mismanagement of the school district money.

Sure they could cut out all travel, training, and other expenses, sure they could sell the land the school district owns; sure they could make sure they are not wasting water and energy by turning lights and water off.....but why when you have taxpayers with endless deep pockets to stick their greedy paws into.

The school board not only needs to be replaced but tarred and feathered or charged with a crime. I used to laugh at the Nampa school district but it seems that the mismanagement and corruption is closer to home.

-- Posted by Trouble2011 on Mon, Sep 23, 2013, at 3:33 PM
JYD:

Just look at who is on the Board---you will figure it out. She was "appointed" when a member quit.

-- Posted by OpinionMissy on Tue, Sep 24, 2013, at 3:21 PM
I fully support any intiative that funds our public schools in Idaho. It's a disgrace the condition of our public schools in this state and in Mtn Home.

I invite those of you who are opposed to any increase of taxes to support our schools take a stroll inside some of the Mtn Home schools, especially the high school which needs to be condemed and torn down...it's completely disgusting how our youth have to put up with such degrading infrastructure.

Shame on ALL of you who are not friends of Idaho's public schools...you disgust me!

-- Posted by DUMBFOUNDED IN IDAHO on Fri, Sep 27, 2013, at 12:24 PM

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