IDAHO

Twin Falls weighs building expansion

Board members are considering building three new schools and expanding another to handle enrollment growth.

Core coalition keeps building

Two more entities have joined a statewide group that supports the successful implementation of Idaho Core Standards.

Idaho Falls starts late on Mondays

With the new school year, officials pushed the first bell on Monday back an hour so teachers could analyze data and help implement Idaho Core Standards.

Idaho K-12 cuts among steepest in nation

Only four states took a bigger slice out of K-12 spending during the recession, according to a Washington, D.C., budget think tank. And this year’s school budget increases did nothing to reverse the trend.

State expects variety of merit pay plans

District leaders have until Oct. 1 to submit a differentiated pay plan. These plans will describe how they will spend their share of $21 million.

School boards work on 2014 wish list

Restoring school budgets to pre-recession levels? Probably. Money for Common Core training? Likely. POST Academy training for teachers? Maybe not. The Idaho School Boards Association will complete its list of legislative priorities in November.

Parma focuses technology at its middle

The district hopes a state grant will give its middle school a boost.

Share your ideas on proposed rule changes

The state is taking public comments on several proposed K-12 rules — including proposals on physical education, math and science offerings and cursive writing instruction.

K-12 endowment payment to stay put

Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Luna argued for an increase from the normal $31.3 million annual payment. But he found no support from the other four statewide elected officials on Idaho’s Land Board.