Today, Idaho Gov. Brad Little will bring his “Capital for a Day” program to Troy.
Joining the governor will be state schools Superintendent Sherri Ybarra, state Treasurer Julie Ellsworth, Labor Director Jani Revier, Department of Environmental Quality Director Jess Byrne, Fish and Game Director Ed Schriever, Commerce Director Tom Kealey, Agriculture Director Celia Gould and Division of Financial Management Administrator Alex Adams.
Also on hand will be representatives of the Idaho State Police, Idaho Department of Lands, Idaho Department of Water Resources and the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare.
What you won’t see is a member of the Idaho State Board of Education from north central Idaho.
That’s because there isn’t one.
Nor has there been one since Bill Goesling of Moscow stepped down more than five years ago. Then-Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter took what had been north central Idaho’s seat on the state board for 25 years and handed it over to Andrew Scoggin of Boise.
Last week, Little replaced Scoggin with another Boise businessman, Bill Gilbert.
That leaves four of the seven gubernatorial state board appointees from Ada County — besides Gilbert, they include Kurt Liebich, the current state board president, Linda Clark and David Hill. Ybarra serves as the eighth member by virtue of her elected position.
Unlike the Idaho Fish and Game Commission or the state Transportation Board, the state board does not represent specific regions. Nonetheless, until recently, there was a tradition of geographic balance.
If it made sense then, it makes even more sense now given the ability to hold state board meetings virtually.
Two years ago, Little named former state Sen. Shawn Keough, R-Sandpoint, to succeed Don Soltman of Twin Lakes and formerly of Coeur d’Alene. Keough was a great selection. After all, she had 11 terms under her belt and had served as co-chairwoman of the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee.
But her seat on the state board traditionally has been held by a resident of the Panhandle.
Meanwhile, the governor is getting ready to make two more appointments. Debbie Critchfield of Oakley is stepping down two years early to launch a campaign for state superintendent of public instruction in the 2022 election.
Ashton’s Emma Atchley’s term ended on June 30.
And to hear Little’s education adviser, Greg Wilson, tell it, the governor’s idea of geographic balance is the status quo:
“We’re actively looking for someone in the Magic Valley and eastern Idaho right now,” Wilson told Idaho Education News’ Kevin Richert.
Having the governor and his entourage in Troy offers a genuine opportunity to learn more. For instance, the audience could ask him:
l Are the chief qualifications for serving on the state board these days prior service on Little’s “Our Kids, Idaho’s Future” education task force — which is an attribute Gilbert, Keough and Liebich share?
l Without a board member from Lewiston, Moscow or elsewhere in this region, who will serve as the governor’s eyes and ears with respect to the University of Idaho and Lewis-Clark State College? Who will be there to explain the unique relationship between the UI and the larger, more prosperous Washington State University just across the state line? Is the governor going to rely on expertise from the state board staff or people more familiar with urban universities such as Boise State University or Idaho State University?
l Who will speak to the specific needs of public schools in a slow-growth region, particularly in more rural areas where voters are demonstrating fatigue with propping up K-12 budgets with supplemental property tax levies? That experience is completely opposite to the explosive expansion underway in Idaho’s urban centers.
l Why give Ada County half the seats on the state board when it does not have half of the state’s population, half of its enrollment or half of its higher education assets?
l Granted, Little sought to recruit Lewiston School Board President Brad Rice two years ago. Citing the demands of his family and business, Rice declined. But is the local talent pool so shallow the governor can’t find anyone else? What about former LCSC President Tony Fernandez? Or retired Lewiston School Superintendent Bob Donaldson? If he’s looking for political experience, how about former legislators such as Cindy Agidius of Moscow or Jeff Nesset of Lewiston?
Doing so would mean stepping out of the governor’s apparent comfort zone with the Boise business community.
But after a decade since Otter appointed Goesling to the state board, why has north central Idaho become an afterthought? — M.T.
