Education
Education in Boulder
Idealism, Idiocy in Charter Schools
When Rep. Michael Merrifield resigned from his post as the chairman of the House Education Committee last week, it may have seemed just another boneheaded maneuver by a politician who doesn't know better than to keep his real views buttoned up even in a "private" email.
In a message to State Sen. Sen. Sue Windels, referring to the ongoing battle over creating new charter schools in Colorado, Merrifield was impolitic enough to write, "There must be a special place in Hell for these Privatizers, Charterizers and Voucherizers!"
Apologizing for his unfortunate remark and citing his struggle with throat cancer, Merrifield stepped down from his statehouse leadership on education. The subtext to this tale, though, is that almost a decade-and-a-half after the charter-school movement caught wind in this country, there remains a deep pool of mistrust and opposition regarding these private-style, state-funded schools.
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COLLEGE GRADUATION
Utah College to Become a State UniversityUtah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. signed into law yesterday the graduation of Utah Valley State College into Utah Valley University, amidst fanfare.
The move, as reported by the Salt Lake Tribune, marks a much-needed transformation for the school, which has grown rapidly to accommodate a booming population in and around Orem. Enrollment has increased by 4 percent a year, and is expected to hit 24,000 students in a decade.
The legislation creating the Tier II university also comes with $8 million, most of which will be used to hire more permanent professors. Many now are adjunct.
Drop it!
University of Utah Gun Lawsuit DismissedA federal lawsuit to keep guns off the University of Utah campus has been dismissed. The Salt Lake Tribune reports that U.S. District Judge Dale A. Kimball ruled on the case Wednesday after both the U and the Utah Attorney General’s office requested the litigation be sacked. [more]
State of the Statehouse
Inglés Será Idioma Oficial de Idaho: English Will be the Official Language of IdahoUn comité del Senado de Idaho hoy votó para hacer el inglés el idioma oficial del estado.
(A committee of the Idaho Senate today voted to make English the state's official language.)
El voto era seis a tres. El Senador Republicano Joe Stegner y los Demócratas Edgar Malapei y Clint Stennett votaron el No.
(The vote was six to three. Republican Senator Joe Stegner and Democrats Edgar Malapei and Clint Stennett voted No.)
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bring nature alive on the page
Writers Workshop Reborn in ‘07
Eileen Garvin is this year’s Beargrass coordinator. She lives, plays, and writes in the Columbia Gorge.
Beargrass Writers Workshop 2007 - Voices From Nature
We are pleased to present the Beargrass Writers Workshop at the Northwest Service Academy Mt. Adams Center in Trout Lake, Wash., from March 30 to April 1, 2007. Located just 20 miles north of Hood River, Ore., Trout Lake sits under the majestic gaze of the Northwest’s second highest peak.
This year marks the revival of the Beargrass Writers Workshop, which has been dormant for several years. The workshop takes its name from the hardy native grass, Xerophyllum tenax, which thrives in the alpine forests of Mt. Adams. Like the dramatic flowering stalk of the Beargrass itself, we are pushing out strands of new growth and energy.
Beargrass 2007 brings together a host of talented regional and local writers whose craft is informed by the voice of nature. Following our welcome session and readings on Friday night, workshop attendees will participate in three different sessions on Saturday. Saturday evening will take us to the Trout Lake Country Inn for an evening of reading, performance and celebration.
Featured writers will include the Columbia Gorge’s own Bill Weiler and Leigh Hancock.
Stick around on Sunday morning for a choice of different nature hikes (weather permitting) or a bonus workshop on how to combine art and poetry...
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READ READ READ
Two New Libraries for Boise in 2007
More libraries for Boise was one of Mayor Dave Bieter's agenda items, and the city council voted unanimously Tuesday night to approve the expansion of Library services. The move means the citizens of Boise will have more opportunities to use Library services than ever before in the city’s history.
(Perhaps we should say Library! since that's what the sign on the Capitol Boulevard library building says.)
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You are an obsession, you're my obsession
Buttars’ Gay-Straight Alliance Obsession ContinuesSen. Chris Buttars isn’t happy with watered-down “school-club” legislation that just passed through the House. The bill, which was created by Rep. Aaron Tilton and the Senate Health and Human Services Committee isn’t tough enough for Buttars and he plans to remedy that by restoring the bill to its original form according to the Deseret Morning News. [more]
Same ol' Same ol'
Utah Legislature Haggles over Vouchers and AbortionOh boy! The Utah Legislature has been hard at work this week coming up with old ways to waste taxpayer money. First, the private-school voucher bill, which would give Utah parents the option of using taxpayer cash to send their children to private school, is likely to pass; and secondly, the House Health and Human Services Committee tossed in an unexpected bill asking the legislature to ban abortions in Utah –at any cost. [more]
EDUCATION ECONOMICS
States Wait on Rural School FundingAs logging on federal lands diminishes in the West, many states are wondering what is going to fund the mechanism that helps their counties pay for rural schools. For decades, rural counties received payments from the federal government in lieu of taxes those counties couldn’t collect on federal land within their borders. Those payments primarily came from timber and other revenue-producing resources on those federal lands, but as logging continues to decline, the counties’ share of revenue also grows smaller.
Legislative fixes are in place to make up that difference, including the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act, also known as the Craig-Wyden bill, after its sponsors, Republican Sen. Larry Craig from Idaho and Oregon Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden. This bill creates a stable payment structure for county road and school districts, and according to the Associated Press, paid out $385 million for schools and roads to rural counties last year. But it expires this year.
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Wyoming Media Grok
Down To The BuzzerSo what do you do, when the front-page lead article of the state-wide newspaper is about your spouse, best friend and life-long partner, but doesn't mention her name?
If you're me, you call New West's managing editor, Courtney Lowery, whose sage advice is to either ignore it, or be 100 percent transparent.
So here goes:
My wife, Sharon Farquhar, is the gymnastics coach for the Natrona County and Kelly Walsh High Schools gymnastics teams. The Curriculum and Instruction Committee (CIC) of the Natrona County School District has recommended that the gymnastics AND the alpine skiing teams be dropped after this season, which would result in those two sports being dropped statewide.
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