Mark your calendar for these key dates

Jennifer Swindell | 01/13/2014

Planning ahead for the 2014 legislative session?

Here are a few key education-related hearings on the horizon.

Follow IdahoEdNews.org for complete coverage of these events.

Wednesday, 3 to 5 p.m., Statehouse, Lincoln Auditorium — Superintendent Tom Luna delivers his state of education speech to the Senate and House education committees. The committees will also hear from Richard Westerberg, chairman of Gov. Butch Otter’s Task Force for Improving Education.
Jan. 22, 3 to 5 p.m., Lincoln Auditorium — Idaho Core Standards forum. A panel, representing both proponents and opponents, will answer questions submitted by the public. Questions must be submitted by 5 p.m. Friday to the House Education Committee’s secretary at [email protected] or by mail to EW49, Routing Code 38, State Capitol, Boise, ID 83720-0038.
Jan. 23, 8 to 10:30 a.m., JFAC (C31) — Luna presents his 2014-15 budget proposal to the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee.
Jan. 27, 3 to 5 p.m., Lincoln Auditorium — joint education committees public listening session.
Feb. 14, 8 to 10:30 a.m. JFAC public hearing on budget-related issues.

All legislative proceedings can be live-streamed online via Idaho Public Television’s Legislature Live.

State partners with pro-Idaho Core Standards coalition

The State Department of Education and Idahoans for Excellence in Education Coalition are partnering on a $200,000 statewide campaign in support of Idaho Core Standards.

The campaign will not be taxpayer-funded, and will instead use money from the Foundation for Excellence in Education, funded by the GE Foundation.

The campaign will include online advertising, public service announcements, and social media components through 2014.

IBE hires new vice president

Idaho Business for Education has hired Hollis Brookover as its new vice president of development and special projects.

Brookover is an Idaho native and grew up in the family retail business, Brookover’s. She is the current owner of Mariposa Labs.

In 2005, Brookover was a founder of Idaho Voices for Children, a statewide non-profit organization supporting initiatives to improve the lives of Idaho’s children. She helped launch the Children’s Champion Award which honors an Idahoan who has been a champion for children. Past recipients include Rep. Mike Simpson, astronaut/educator Barbara Morgan and former Gov. Cecil Andrus.

In 1996, Smith College appointed Brookover to a 13-member Alumnae Fund Committee to develop and implement a strategy to raise financial support for the college. She also served as development director for My Friend’s Place, a Los Angeles nonprofit organization serving homeless youth.

Brookover is a product of the Boise School District and holds a bachelor’s degree in government from Smith College. She and her husband, Milt, have an 11-year-old son, Samuel.

IBE, which has 85 business members, is dedicated to improving the state’s education system to create a more highly educated and skilled work force.

Jennifer Swindell

Managing editor and CEO Jennifer Swindell founded Idaho Education News in 2013. She has led the online news platform as it has grown in readership and engagement every year, reaching over two million pageviews a year. Jennifer has more than 35 years of experience in Idaho journalism. She also has served as a public information officer for Idaho schools and as a communication director at Boise State University. She can be reached at [email protected].