Dozens Brave Frigid Weather to Hear Speakers, Encourage Action
Despite temperatures in the low teens, education supporters gathered on the Capitol steps to hear from several speakers and begin the push for education reform in advance of the 2014 legislative session. The speakers also drew attention to Idaho’s status as one of the lowest funded states on a per-pupil basis and encouraged a reinvestment in public education.
IEA president Penni Cyr led things off with a call to legislators to recommit to public education and stop settling for mediocrity; a sentiment that was echoed by Boise Education Association president Stephanie Myers.
State representative Hy Kloc encouraged adoption of the recommendations put forth by the Governor’s Task Force on Improving Education, saying “I believe in the experts on education—and I listen to what they tell me.”
Mike Lanza, co-founder of Idaho Parents and Teachers Together, also voiced support for the Task Force recommendations, noting that “they offer a bold, new plan for education in Idaho.”
Parent and local businessman Aaron White lamented the fact that “the notion that we are in it together has been swept aside in favor of a notion of every man for himself,” and encouraged all education stakeholders to collaborate on education solution.
