Education Legislation

If Superintendent Luna’s plan is signed into law as it currently exists, it will have a profound impact on our district. According to my calculations, which were confirmed by Tim Hill, Chief Financial Officer for the State Department of Education, the Basin District will have its state funding reduced by $250,000.00 to $300,000.00. This translates into five to six certified/classified staff members. Unfortunately, due to cuts in funding the last two years, we have reduced our classified staff about as far as we can in Transportation, Food Services, Maintenance and Custodial. All that leaves then are instructional aides and classroom teachers.

Losing three teachers from the elementary would increase average class size by nine students with one class increasing by fifteen. At the secondary level, reducing staff is more problematic due to graduation requirements in the core areas. That means I will have to look at cutting programs (i.e. Art, Music, Shop, etc.) in order to balance the budget. I truly hope it doesn’t come to this, but I feel it is my duty to hope for the best while planning for the worst.

Another bill I want to make you aware of is House Bill 123. It is not getting much attention due to the focus on Superintendent Luna’s plan, but if passed, HB123 would do away with kindergarten for all but special needs students. This, of course, would significantly impact our preschool program as well.

Given the state’s current budget crisis, there seems to be a sense of urgency regarding education legislation. Individual bills are being debated daily and if you have concerns regarding pending legislation, I encourage you to contact your elected representatives. For your convenience, I have listed them below:

Butch Otter – Governor                governor@gov.idaho.gov

Tom Luna – Superintendent of Public Instruction             
trluna@sde.idaho.gov

Tim Corder – State Senator (Dist. 22)                                      tcorder@senate.idaho.gov

Rich Wills – State Representative (Dist. 22)                          
rwills@house.idaho.gov

Pete Nielsen – State Representative (Dist 22)                    
pnielsen@house.idaho.gov

Spring Concert

Music Teacher Warren Barnes will present the 2011 (Almost) Spring Concert on March 17 th in the high school cafeteria. Students in grades seven through twelve will be on stage starting at 7:00 in the evening. Among the groups performing will be the Choir, String Band, Wind Band and Guitars. Hope to see you there!

Drugs in School

Over the last several years, district administration has worked closely with students, local law enforcement and Boise County Community Justice to reduce the use of drugs and alcohol among our youth, particularly at school or at school sponsored events. While we will probably never get to zero, our efforts have largely been successful as is evidenced by the fact that student citations have gone down significantly for several years in a row. That is true this year as well, although we have had a few instances since Christmas break.

As we continue to work with students to make healthier choices we encourage you to talk with your children about the risks involved and how drugs and alcohol can affect their futures. If you hear about potential problems, please give either of the building administrators a call. It’s not our goal to “bust” kids as we would much rather head off an incident beforehand and use it as an educational opportunity. Thanks for your support on this.

Higher Education Day

Reminder: We are excited to once again host Higher Education Day in Idaho City. Representatives from Idaho Colleges and Universities will be at ICHS on the morning of Wednesday, March 2. High School students will have an opportunity to learn about the many options awaiting them at Idaho’s public and private colleges. Military recruiters will also be in attendance. Parents, if you are interested in attending you are more than welcome!

Inservice and Spring Break

On March 11 th the district will be holding a teacher inservice and there will be no school for students. Two weeks after that, on March 25 th, Spring Break begins and continues through the following week. Students will not return to school until Monday, April 4 th. After what has seemed like an endless winter, many of us here are looking forward to recharging our batteries for the final two months of the school year. I hope you have a safe and energizing week off as well.

March Pizza Fundraiser

Third graders from Ms. Lindquist’s and Ms. Randolph’s classes will be selling pizzas next month. Orders will be due by noon on Wednesday, March 16 th with delivery on Friday, March 18 th. If you are interested in ordering, contact either of the classroom teachers, a third grader or Angel Nelson at 392-4183 ext. 298.

Luman Parent Portal

If you are a returning parent, your login information will be the same as last year. New families please contact Sean Porter at 392-4183 ext. 276 and he will get you set up. URL:New External Lumen Address:  http://96.5.147.19/uplinkos/login.php 

Location #: 3 (be sure to change this number to 3).