Coeur d’Alene School Board appoints new trustee

The Coeur d’Alene School District board of trustees voted Tuesday to appoint Jennifer Brumley to fill a vacancy seat on the school board.

Brumley will serve the rest of the term of Dave Eubanks, who stepped down from the board in July. She was one of three applicants for the position interviewed by the trustees during a special board meeting Tuesday evening.

“Jennifer Brumley demonstrated a keen understanding of the role of trustees and broad knowledge of our community and school system. She will serve our families, students and school staff well,” said Casey Morrisroe, the board chairman.

Brumley said her top three objectives as trustee will be to develop and adopt a 10-year plan for land acquisition to build another elementary school as well as new middle and high schools; to plan and implement bonds to have the funding necessary to build schools and develop the needed infrastructure for those schools over the next 10 years; and to develop a strategy to increase test scores on the state assessments and the SAT.

Brumley is a family law attorney and partner with Amendola Doty & Brumley, PLLC. She graduated from the University of Idaho in 1996 with a Bachelor of Science degree in communications and a teaching certificate in speech and journalism. She earned her law degree in 1998 from the University of Idaho School of Law.

Brumley’s father was a school administrator and her mother was a health teacher in the Coeur d’Alene district. She graduated from Coeur d’Alene High School in 1992. She is married and has two children enrolled in the district.

Division of Career and Technical Education honors educators

The Idaho Division of Career and Technical Education (ICTE) last month hosted nearly 1,000 CTE secondary and postsecondary educators from around the state to its annual REACH professional development conference held in Boise. During the conference three educators were honored for their dedication and awarded the ICTE Ambassador Award.

Educators were nominated for their demonstrated commitment to the ICTE mission, its programs, and its students.

Among 20 nominees, ICTE recognized three winners (including descriptions of their service provided by ICTE):

• John Cannon, Associate Professor and CTE Program Coordinator, University of Idaho: John continues to advocate for teachers, teacher educators, and our future CTE teachers. He is overseeing our INSPIRE grant, helping to shape the future and success of our CTE teachers joining us from industry. John has been a tireless partner with ICTE  and is constantly looking for opportunities to expand our partnership with University of Idaho.

• Bobbi Finlayson, Career Technical School Administrator, Idaho Falls School District: As a Career Technical School administrator, Bobbi is constantly advocating for rigorous programs and accountability within CTE. She serves as an advocate and liaison throughout Eastern Idaho and never hesitates to ask hard questions or to support ICTE. Bobbi comes to the table with an open mind and a willingness to implement new initiatives.

• Byron Yankey, College and Career Advising Program Manager, Idaho State Board of Education: As a lifelong educator, Byron has seen how students respond to CTE programs for decades. He is constantly looking for ways to brings CTE into various education-related discussions,  has been a strong advocate for CTE, and has worked with Board members to make Career Technical Education a top priority.

State Board of Education launches opportunity scholarship website

Idahoans interested in finishing their college degree or career technical certificate can now apply online for the State Board of Education’s newly expanded Opportunity Scholarship.

The Board, in partnership with the Idaho Workforce Development Council, has launched a new Opportunity Scholarship website with useful information and a step-by-step process for applying for the scholarship.

“This new website has everything a person needs to submit their application smoothly and quickly in order to potentially receive the scholarship in time for the fall semester,” said Linda Clark, State Board President.

Gov. Otter and lawmakers passed legislation earlier this year allowing up to 20 percent of the Opportunity Scholarship fund to be used for adult learners interested in resuming their education.  They also increased the annual appropriation by $3.5 million for a total of $13.5 million.

Applicants must have earned 24 credits or more before “stopping out” of college or a career technical program and they can return to school and attend class part-time or fulltime.

Requirements include:

• Minimum GPA OF 2.7
• Be an Idaho resident
• Applicants must have “stopped out” for two years or more
• Requires students to show progress in order to maintain eligibility
• Award amounts are pro-rated based on credits enrolled in

The Opportunity Scholarship was launched in 2013 and several thousand Idaho students have used it to further their education.  Last year, 3,716 Idaho students received an Opportunity Scholarship.  The maximum award for a scholarship is $3,500 annually for up to four years.