The subject heading stood out from the rest of the Monday morning email deluge. I share this because the email was from a friend who had been following the 2017 session of the Idaho Legislature. The body of her correspondence detailed her frustrations with yet another bill that was up for a hearing. My friend’s […]
Governor Otter has vowed to stay the course on his education plan. In his proposed budget message, he referred to the governor’s task force recommendations for education. This task force was formed December 2012 following the overwhelming defeat of Props 1, 2, and 3 also known as the Luna Laws. The recommendations were reported September […]
Governor Otter has proposed several big money education items in his budget. Each builds on previous programs recommended by a task force created in 2012 and operating on information at least that old. None of the task force recommendations implemented to date have been audited to determine if the programs are worth the cost. Furthermore, […]
In 1978, Pfeffer and Salancik published External Control of Organizations. The full title is “External Control of Organizations – a resource dependence perspective“. The authors make the point that those who control the resources control the organization. If an organization is dependent on outside resources then whoever controls those outside resources can control the organization. […]
Back when I was growing up the term “trickle down” had an entirely different meaning. It was what happened when my younger brothers couldn’t make it to the outhouse on time. Today, trickle-down economics continues to be promoted by Idaho’s political class. Sometimes the name is different as we are now being sold on the […]
“Silence means consent” is an often repeated phrase that is used to justify decisions. When it comes to education decision-making in Idaho, silence does not mean consent. Instead silence indicates a communication wall exists between the citizenry and government. This wall exists between the Legislature and the citizens and between agencies and the citizens. The […]
On November 8 voters living in the Western Ada Recreation District will be asked to approve a $20 million bond to build two swimming pools. One pool will be located near Amity and Eagle in south Meridian. The other is planned for a location near Black Cat and Chinden in northwest Meridian. Ward includes an […]
These meetings are not well publicized – They hope you won’t attend. If You Want a Say in Your Child’s Education You Must Attend! Our thanks to Mary Ollie for putting this information together As citizens we all have a basic civic duty to follow the law. However we also have a civic responsibility to participate. By […]
Your Crony Government Hard at Work Costing You Money Credit my brothers for introducing me to military jargon. SNAFU, TARFU, and FUBAR are said to date from the 1940’s and while crude expressions, these do a better job of summing up a situation than any essay on the subject. I think the terms fit well […]
Parents Upset about Invasive School Registration Questions Across Idaho, parents are discussing the kinds of school registration questions being asked about their children and they are not happy. During the past week parents have expressed concerns about the amount of information they have to enter into Power School – a registration and data management software […]
Once a bill becomes law, agencies begin the rulemaking process that details how the law will be implemented. This essay is the second of two that looks at how the rule-making process can be manipulated. The first detailed the rulemaking process used by the US Department of Education. The phrase, “The devil is in the details,” applies to both the […]
Every issue of Gem State Patriot News includes the phrase “Knowledge is Power as Silence is Consent”. When I read that phrase, I find myself nodding in agreement and at the same time feel my blood pressure rising. Why? It’s because finding information in order to be that knowledgeable and vocal citizen is extremely difficult. […]