A major renovation of Seiter Hall at North Idaho College won support from the Legislature's joint budget committee this morning, which made it one of just three specific projects to be funded in the state's capital budget for next year. The capital budget proposal cleared the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee on a 19-1 vote; it still needs approval from both houses and the governor's signature to become final, but budget bills rarely are changed after they're set by the joint committee. Sen. Joyce Broadsword, R-Sagle, said, "Times are tight, but I think these are important projects. The money is in the permanent building fund, it's not in the general fund - it's not money that can be used for education or anything else." The 1974 building on the Coeur d'Alene community college campus was a state-of-the-art science lab building when it opened, but it's now sadly out of date. You can read my full story here at spokesman.com.

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