‘Perhaps you do have too much responsibility’
After running down the list of state agencies and programs the state Board of Education oversees, Sen. Mike Jorgenson, R-Hayden Lake, questioned whether the board has too much on its plate. Board members said the smaller programs don’t take a lot of their time, but Jorgenson said, “Perhaps you do have too much responsibility. … Wouldn’t you be better off just focusing on what it is you’re supposed to do?”
Jorgenson also asked if the board has adequate staff, and board members said they currently lack both a chief fiscal officer and a chief academic officer – and they don’t have sufficient funds to hire at the level required to fill them. “Both of those positions, we lost the personnel while Karen McGee was our interim director,” board member Paul Agidius told the Senate Education Committee. Added board member Blake Hall, “Unfortunately when we get someone good, they get hired away, they get hired away by one of the institutions.” Idaho’s universities pay more than the board office, Hall said.
Jorgenson asked why those two key employees left, and Hall responded, “Personnel matters are matters that are privileged, and I’m not able to disclose those under state law.” Said Jorgenson, “I’m not asking for the personnel files, I’m merely asking did they quit, were they fired?” Hall said he still couldn’t say, but, “I can tell you that some of the people you’ve made inquiry on did leave of their own volition to take better-paying jobs.” Both positions remain vacant.
