Idaho EdNews Podcasts

There’s plenty on the line for education next week. First, on Tuesday, 12 school districts will seek $261.4 million in bond issues and levies. Then, on Thursday, lawmakers will return to the Statehouse for a special session. Gov. Brad Little wants a $410 million permanent increase in education spending, along with $500 million in tax…

Nick Swayne has walked into one of the toughest jobs in Idaho education. The new North Idaho College president takes the helm of a two-year school in turmoil. Its accreditation is in jeopardy, and Swayne needs to fill several top administrative posts. Enrollment is dropping. And come November, voters will elect three trustees — and…

Carly Flandro has gone from the newsroom to the classroom back to the newsroom. The former teacher is one of our new reporters here at Idaho Education News. She joined us on June 27. This week, she joins Kevin Richert to talk more about two of her recent reporting projects: an in-depth look at Idaho’s…

Over the past year, Coeur d’Alene has been a microcosm for education hot-button politics. Blowback over pandemic protocols. Allegations of critical race theory. Polarized school board elections with partisan overrtones. And this month, the  Coeur d’Alene School District will seek a 10-year, $80 million plant facilities. This week, Kevin Richert talks with Coeur d’Alene Superintendent…

Across much of the state, the first day of school is just around the corner. Meanwhile, coronavirus case rates are creeping upward, statewide and nationally. What should parents and educators know about the BA.5 variant, and its implications for the new school year? To get answers, Kevin Richert interviews retired St. Luke’s health system CEO…

Idaho is closing the books on a record-setting budget surplus. And the Idaho Republican Party just wrapped up a state convention that veered the party sharply to the right. Both developments will shape the 2023 legislative session. To explain it all, Kevin Richert talks with Idaho Capital Sun reporter (and friend of the podcast) Clark…

Byron Yankey dedicated his 51-year professional career to education. As a teacher, a principal and, for the past decade, as the manager of the State Board of Education’s college and career advising program. Yankey retired last week. But he joins Kevin Richert on this week’s podcast, to talk about his career and the challenge of…

There’s been a lot going on in school choice politics the past two weeks. A Tuesday U.S. Supreme Court ruling could open the doors to public funding of religious schools. The Biden administration faces pushback over proposed rules regarding federal charter school startup grants. And the State Board of Education took the unusual step of…

Idaho politics is somewhat in limbo this time of year, and that’s certainly the case for Reclaim Idaho. The group has turned in its petitions in its bid to get its Quality Education Act on the November ballot. County clerks are reviewing the petitions, and it will be weeks before we know if the initiative…

The May 24 mass shooting at a Uvalde, Texas, elementary school has refocused a national discussion over school safety and gun control. Mike Munger works on these issues on a daily basis. He’s the manager of the state’s School Safety and Security Program, which reviews safety protocols and procedures at Idaho’s public schools. This week,…