Educators, business and political leaders agree to reach the goal of having 60% of high school graduates earning a post-secondary degree by 2020 are needed to improve our economy and assure our children a prosperous future. The interim President Don Burnett, University of Idaho told lawgivers, “Idaho has a workforce imbalance: an oversupply of workers with high school educations or less, and an undersupply of workers with post-secondary educations.”
This is the reason why Idaho is the nation which has the highest percentage of minimum-wage workers. After struggling over education for years the struggles the state finally has a consensus on a road map for Idaho’s public schools. But a commitment from the elected leaders is what is still needed.
Governor Otter called education his “top priority.” But an alternative plan was released by former state economist Mike Ferguson and it “reflects a different set of priorities,” the state could raise school spending by 8.3 percent instead of the governor’s proposed 2.9 percent.
A broad with the combination of parents, educators, child advocates, and business leaders stand behind the Idaho Core Standards, which build expectations for our students, most of these either are unable to go to college or require remediation once there. The Legislature is also set to analyze a bill proposing state support for pre-K education, an area where Idaho now sadly lingers behind at least 40 states.
If the elected leaders of the state continue with the same approach towards education which they have had for the past years, offering minimal, inadequate support then the results would always be the same, unequal opportunities and not enough students continuing beyond high school.