(Boise). Idaho State Board of Education President Milford Terrell spoke to legislative budget writers this morning, saying that education must and will play a vital role in helping Idaho in its economic recovery. “I am of the opinion that government cannot do everything and should not attempt to do everything for our citizens. But one thing we MUST do is ensure that we are being good stewards of our educational system.”
Terrell and the other seven members of the state board then met in their scheduled board meeting. Members of the board approved several items including an endorsement of Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter’s proposed reorganization of some of the Board’s current reporting assignments. Under the Governor’s proposal, the Idaho Commission for Libraries, State Historical Society would move to self-governing agencies, and the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation would report to the Idaho Department of Labor. “These are agencies that for some reason were placed under the Board years ago,” said Board member Blake Hall of Idaho Falls. “It makes sense to move them and free us up to concentrate more directly on the matters affecting education.”
The Board also heard a report and approved recommendations from its own subcommittee on medical education. The recommendations include increasing the current number of seats in WWAMI (the collaborative five-state medical school based at the University of Washington; Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, Idaho) from twenty to forty at a rate of ten per year. The Board also voted to accept the subcommittee’s recommendation that “The State Board of Education will oversee an initiative to engage all stakeholder groups (ISU, UI, BSU, LCSC, University of Washington, VA Medical Center, the hospitals, and the Idaho Medical Association) to jointly develop a collaborative and comprehensive plan for establishment of a 4-year, Idaho based MD program.” (recommendation #4 in the agenda materials).
“We have spent a considerable amount of time and effort looking at this issue,” said Board Secretary Sue Thilo, who co-chaired the subcommittee. “We really appreciate all those who have offered testimony, opinion and their thoughts on where we should go as a state.”
Board members heard a presentation from the State Department of Education on Superintendent Tom Luna’s revised budget that he will present to the legislature later this week.
The Board also hired Burton Waite as permanent president of Eastern Idaho Technical College (EITC) in Idaho Falls. Waite has been acting as Interim President since July 1, 2008. Waite takes over for Dr. Bill Robertson who retired after three decades of service to Idaho, most of which were at EITC.
The Board’s next regularly scheduled meeting is set for February 26-27, 2009 in Boise on the campus of Boise State University.