Idaho’s troubled state Board of Education should limit itself to policy-setting and not try to run programs, the board’s interim director told JFAC today. “I do not think the state Board of Education is particularly good at running programs,” Mike Rush told the budget writers. “The board ought to stay out, and to the extent that we’re in that business, we ought to take a look at getting out of that business.” Rush’s comments got strong positive reactions from legislators. “I thought he expressed that very well,” said Sen. Jim Hammond, R-Post Falls, who served on the board for five years. “I hope the board will consider those comments, because I think it makes sense. Just like any board, their chief purpose is policy-setting, and when they try to get too much into the operational side, it just creates inefficiencies.” You can read my full story here at spokesmanreview.com.

And here are links to my legislative stories in today’s Spokesman-Review: “Idaho’s ed chief pares teacher merit pay plan” “Boating safety bill rejected” and “Tax exemption reform gets cool reception.”

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