Emilie Ritter Saunders was StateImpact Idaho's multimedia reporter until the project merged with the Boise State Public Radio site in July 2013. She previously worked as the Capitol Bureau Chief for Montana Public Radio and was a Senior Fellow with NPR's Economic Training Project from 2009 until 2010. She graduated from the University of Montana School of Journalism in 2007.
Each week we look back at the five stories that got the most clicks, comments and shares at StateImpact Idaho. Take a look and let us know what you think.
Idaho's public schools spent $7,106 per-student in 2010.
Idaho spent less on each public school child in 2010 than 48 other states. That’s according to a new report released today by the U.S. Census Bureau.
On average, public school systems across the U.S. spent $10,615 per student, while Idaho spent $7,106 from 2009–2010.
Idaho’s public school superintendent Tom Luna says the amount of money a state spends per child isn’t a silver bullet to high academic achievement. “It is a factor, but not the most important factor,” says Luna. Continue Reading →
The Idaho Department of Labor has awarded 260 workforce development training grants since the program’s inception in 1996. Some of those contracts went to the same companies.
Grants for training workers range from a few thousand dollars to a few million dollars.
Quick Facts:
205 businesses have received workforce training grants since 1996
Idaho spent $3,500 less than average on each public school student in fiscal year 2010 according to new Census data released today.
On average, public school systems across the U.S. spent $10,615 per student, while Idaho spent $7,106 from 2009-2010. That puts Idaho among states spending the least on elementary and secondary public school kids.
Public schools in the District of Columbia spent the most per students, at $18,667 in 2010. D.C. was followed by New York ($18,618), New Jersey ($16,841), Alaska ($15,783), Vermont ($15,274) and Wyoming ($15,169). Continue Reading →
Idaho’s public employee pension system gap continues to shrink.
As we reported yesterday, a Pew Center on the States Report compared each state’s pension system in 2010. Many states, including Idaho, took a big hit when the financial markets crashed in 2008, resulting in staggering investment losses.
Idaho is making a quicker comeback than many states thanks to something called “smoothing.” That basically means Idaho took its financial hit all at once, while many other states smoothed out those short term losses over a five year period.
So, some states will continue to feel investment losses from the 2008 economic crash while Idaho’s pension system is on the mend.
In 2010, Pew reports the gap between Idaho’s assets and its obligation to fund public employee pensions was $3 billion or 79 percent funded.
According to PERSI spokesperson Patrice Perow, Idaho’s gap is now at $1.88 billion or 85 percent funded.
As long as Idaho’s unemployment rate stays above 7 percent, businesses will be able to apply for training grants to replace retiring employees. Last month, Idaho’s unemployment rate was 7.8 percent.
Before this change, businesses were only eligible for the training money if they were expanding their current workforce or averting layoffs. Continue Reading →
Idaho is faring better than many states when it comes to funding its public employee pension and retiree health care systems.
A Pew Center on the States study on the widening gap between states’ assets and their obligation to fund pension systems ranks Idaho in the “needs improvement” and “solid performer” categories. Most states — 32 of them — landed in the “serious concern” category.
Here’s Pew’s assessment of the situation across the country:
“In fiscal year 2010, the gap between states’ assets and their obligations for public sector retirement benefits was $1.38 trillion, up nearly 9 percent from fiscal year 2009. Of that figure, $757 billion was for pension promises, and $627 billion was for retiree health care. Continue Reading →
Mirroring the national jobless rate increase, Idaho’s unemployment rate rose one-tenth of a percentage point last month, ending a nine-month decline in the economic measure.
Idaho’s seasonally adjusted jobless rate ticked up to 7.8 percent in May, from 7.7 percent in April.
Idaho is among 18 states where the jobless rate went up in May, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The Idaho Department of Labor reports hiring slowed in the service sector. That can have a big impact on the rate, since four of every five Idaho jobs fall into this category. Continue Reading →
The public-private research initiative sailed through the 2012 Legislature after Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter pitched it as a way to expand technology development in Idaho.
Lawmakers set aside $5 million for IGEM. The first three projects were announced this week:
$700,000 for Boise State University’s computer science program
$670,700 for Idaho State University’s medical and semiconductor industry applications
$640,200 for the University of Idaho’s cyber-security program
All three schools will use the money to further develop existing programs. In some cases that means hiring new faculty.
You can read more about IGEM here, and more about the universities plans here.
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