Hello Friends,

We continue to move at a fast pace during this 2015 Legislative session. The highlight of the past week was a historic hearing of HB 2 by the House State Affairs Committee. This marked the first-ever public hearing for Add the Words after nine consecutive years of unsuccessful efforts.

Spanning four days, thirty hours of testimony, and an audience of hundreds, the hearing left committee members exhausted physically and emotionally.Though the bill was defeated on a straight party line vote, some hearts were touched by the emotional testimony, and commitments were made by all to work on compromise legislation. We know this issue will not go away, so our challenge is to write a bill that protects all Idahoans.

Another recent highlight was Education Week here at the Capitol. The highlight of the week are the budget presentations by representatives from Idaho’s public colleges and universities, the State Board of Education, State Department of Education, and PTA, among others. As expected funding remains a primary focus.

I also recently had the pleasure speaking in front of the Idaho State University Alumni Board, alongside Speaker Scott Bedke, Assistant Minority Leader Mat Erpelding, and Senator Fred Martin. It is exciting to hear that everyone wants to move education forward and agrees that a substantial investment in education must be made this year. Boise School District, in fact, just announced they will be implementing a preschool program at Hawthorne Elementary. This is great news. We know the money spent to ensure children are ready for kindergarten comes back to us tenfold.

As an added bonus, I’ve also enjoyed participating in a fitness challenge sponsored by the High Five Children’s Health Collaborative. Currently, I am one of 49 legislators to participate in the Mount Everest Challenge, a fitness competition that awards three winning legislators a $5,000 prize for an elementary school of their choice. Particularly notable, is the fact that we have been able to check on our progress by using a website built by a team of high school students from Meridian Technical Charter School.

Please note that Representative Ilana Rubel, Representative Phylis King, and I, will host a full slate of D18 Townhall meetings during the 2015 Legislative Session. It is always nice to receive feedback from constituents and to hear your concerns. Here are the details for our townhalls in February and March. Meetings start promptly at 7 PM.

February 12 at East Junior High
(5600 Warm Springs Ave, Boise)

February 24th at Maple Grove Elementary
(2800 S Maple Grove Rd, Boise)

March 3rd at Les Bois Junior High
(4150 E Grand Forest Dr, Boise)

March 12th at Timberline High
(701 E Boise Ave, Boise)

I also encourage you to follow me on Twitter and “like” my page on Facebook for legislative updates and other up-to-the-minute happenings around the State Capitol.

As always, thank you for your amazing support. It is an honor and a privilege to represent you!

Warmest Regards,

Senator Janie Ward-Engelking
District 18