Kevin’s blog

The North Star Charter School says it has secured $133,000 to stay afloat, the Idaho Statesman reports. The school also wants the Meridian School Board to sign off on a loan restructuring plan.

It’s graduation season across the state. And at Idaho Education News, we’re looking for a few good story ideas.

Where does Raul Labrador — Idaho’s 1st District congressman and possible gubernatorial candidate — stand on the Common Core controversy? Idaho Education News asked. A week ago.

Custodians in the cash-strapped Nampa School District can show up at a Saturday job fair to apply for work. Meanwhile, the district is leaning against outsourcing nutritionists’ jobs.

Despite a continued controversy over the value of the state’s scenic lakeside sites, 95 percent of summer cabin owners have applied to keep their leases.

Steve Smylie, a teacher and former state representative, says he’s been approached about making another run for state schools superintendent in 2014. But the Boise Republican says he’s leaning against it for now.

Teachers, at the K-12 and college level, accounted for 7 percent of the state’s out-migration from 2008 to 2011, according to a recent Boise State Public Radio report. But the numbers do not necessarily signal an exodus.

A new law, with roots in Proposition 1, allows school districts to require unions to prove they represent at least 50 percent of a district’s staff. The Nampa School District was quick to put this law into practice.

A few tidbits from the Common Core front: A Boise School Board member defends the controversial standards, saying they will deliver ‘long-term benefits’ for the district’s 25,000 students.

Treasure Valley education, business and nonprofit leaders have a lofty goal for local graduates — and a new “report card” spells out the magnitude of the task.