“This is so nice,” said Sandra Miller, director of federal programs.

Miller’s secretaries moved into the new center before she did, working around construction for months.

The move was accomplished in steps that included selling the old Acequia Elementary School and moving the district’s alternative school, Mount Harrison High School, from the current service center site to the south campus of the former Heyburn Elementary School last year.

The center also includes computer stations for parents to use who do not own their own computers.

“It’s nice to have all these programs in one building,” said Heyburn resident Kimberly Santos.

Michelle DeLuna, district business manager and treasurer, said $95,000 of the remodel was funded by the sale of Acequia Elementary. General funds and plant facilities funding also paid for work done so far.

“This is the first time I’ve got to tour the building,” said district Trustee Mark Sanderson. “I’m really impressed. This is going to be well utilized.”

For the rest of the article, go to Minidoka Educators Showcase New Center.

For the rest of the article, go to New E-Learning Funding Tactics Seen as Necessary

“I feel like we have less control (under this legislation) at the same time that we’re asking more from our residents and citizens,” Cvitanich said.

LPOSD’s financial challenges are amplified by the way student enrollment affects state support under Idaho’s public education budget formula. In the four-year period between 2007-2010, the district had the largest student population declines in the state. Its upcoming budget projects a further drop of 2.5 percent — about 90 students districtwide — for Fiscal 2012.

Approximately a third of those students are expected to move out of the area, but a shift in the majority of the others shows the dilutive effect of new education options, as more of the population migrates to charter and private schools or explores home schooling and online “virtual academies.”

For the rest of the article, go to LPOSD budget does ‘less with less’

“It’s been a difficult process to work through the announcement of my retirement,” Grant said. “But I get to embark on something new. I don’t see it as the end; I see it as an opportunity for a new window to open and for me to make a difference in a different way.”

Grant stated that his proudest accomplishments are the creation of many schools, including Sage Valley, Desert Springs, Lakeview Elementary, Vallivue Virtual Academy and Rivervue Middle School, as well as reaching Adequate Yearly Progress in both 2007-08 and 2008-09.

For the rest of the article, go to Vallivue superintendent leaves imprint on district

The new Minidoka Virtual Academy will open in August, blending online coursework with instruction from one of the 3,961-student school district’s teachers.

“There is an age-old rivalry between school districts and home school, which is just silly,” District Superintendent Scott Rogers said. “We want to embrace the fact that sometimes children need a different type of classroom. We can’t be afraid of that.”

For the rest of the article, go to New program to cater to home-schooled K-8 learners

A growing number of school districts are embracing the opportunities.initiatives. And Superintendent Luna will lay out all the details of our proposals this coming Wednesday.

For the rest of the article, go to Full text of Otter’s state budget address

Idaho Virtual Academy