Hello Friends,
We are doing double floor sessions now, so we seem to be nearing the finish line. Many here believe we will adjourn on March 21st. Please remember the upcoming town hall meeting. It starts at 7 PM.
March 18th at East Junior High School 5600 Warm Springs Avenue, Boise
I have enjoyed some success with bills I am carrying this week. Ilah Hickman’s bill (SB 1205) to make the Idaho Giant Salamander our State Amphibian passed the Senate and is on its way to the House. I am thrilled for Ilah and honored to sponsor her bill, as she has worked diligently for four years to make this a reality. Our Class Size Bill, SB 1326, also passed the Senate and is on its way to the House. Another bill I am sponsoring is the Idaho Education Association’s Bus Driver Immunity Bill (SB 1232a). This bill protects bus drivers from criminal and civil liability if they intervene to protect a rider on his/her bus. It passed the Senate on Friday and will be sent to the House.
We are all waiting to see what JFAC’s Education budget will be. This will be critical in determining teachers’ salaries and restoring some of the drastic cuts in education. Idaho is still near the bottom in per pupil expenditures and way behind our surrounding states in teachers’ salaries. I have been assured there will be some money for salaries.
The Idaho Education Network (IEN) has been a constant source of concern this session, beginning with a surprise request by the Department of Administration for $14.5 million to fund the program. IEN was originally crafted to bring high-speed broadband internet to Idaho schools. The unexpected cost was just another blow to a troubled program that has already been dogged by a costly lawsuit, a probe by an independent agency of the federal government, and allegations of favoritism and mismanagement. The debacle threatens to continue. The Director of the Department of Administration, Teresa Luna, delivered a bombshell last week when she announced, without the permission of the legislature, she had unilaterally signed a contract to continue the program in its current form until 2019. As public servants, we have an obligation to handle our educational initiatives in a manner that best benefits Idaho’s children. We are still $70 million below our 2009 investment levels in public education, and additional spending on problems like this only puts us farther in the hole.
Some of you may have heard this week about a request by Idaho Democrats for an FBI investigation into Correction Corporation of America (CCA). This has been an ongoing issue, and unfortunately, it is another astonishing example of a lack of accountability and leadership. Since 2000, lawsuits and state investigations have swirled around CCA’s prison operation in South Boise. Throughout the controversy, the Governor’s office and the majority party has shown little willingness to take charge, even as CCA admitted to chronically understaffing its facility and overbilling the state. What has been the response by the majority party? It has been the promotion of a political culture that lacks accountability and transparency. While CCA will no longer be doing business in Idaho, it has been granted a release from civil liability on behalf of the state.
As Idahoans, we are left to pick up the pieces after egregious mistakes are made and our money is spent. We need leadership that is transparent, accountable, and fiscally responsible, and 20 years of one-party politics has rendered the opposite effect. Idahoans simply deserve better.
Finally, I am delighted to be taking part in the celebration for Read Across America on Monday, March 3. I will be reading to a group of children at East Junior High School.
Thank you for your confidence and support.
Warmest Regards,
Senator Janie Ward-Engelking
District 18