Olson said that feels the race for the state superintendent of public instruction has become too politicized over the years.  He explained that Democratic officials approached him and asked him to run for the position under their banner, even though he has donated to and voted for Republicans and Democrats in past years.  He said that education in the state should be based on educational and business experience, and not on political ideology.  If elected, he said he would urge lawmakers to find a way to de-politicize the superintendent election.

In a stump speech to delegates gathered at the convention, Olson said that Luna lacks a plan for education policy in the state of Idaho.  Olson told IdahoReporter.com that if he prevails over  incumbent Luna in November, he will immediately go to work to evaluate the resources of the state’s education system and find areas in which improvement is needed.  He touted his own survey conducted within the Boise School District, over which he presides as superintendent, which received 23,000 responses from staffers, students, and community members on how to improve education and maximize efficiencies.

Some Idaho lawmakers believe consolidation of some of the state’s districts will bring added savings from reductions in administration.  Olson said that he is willing to engage in discussions about the idea, but refused to say if he is personally in support of or opposed to the idea.  According to literature of the field, as he put it, district consolidation, or combining districts with close geographic proximity, isn’t as cost-efficient as some would lead the public to believe.  Olson said that when districts are consolidated, unanticipated costs prevent governments and schools from realizing a real large amount of savings.  Communities often oppose district consolidation because they fear local control of their schools will be taken from parents and families, Olson said.

During the 2010 legislative session, Idaho lawmakers cut more than $120 million from schools in the state.  Olson said that if elected, he will urge lawmakers to stabilize education funding.  He said that if there need to be personnel cost reductions that must happen as a result of the cuts, he will communicate with teachers the severity of the situation.  That, he believes, will make teachers more willing to come to the bargaining table and sacrifice for the good of students and the school.  If teachers aren’t involved in cost-cutting measures, Olson said, they are less amenable to changes.

Ron Nilson, CEO of Ground Force Manufacturing in Post Falls, told lawmakers early this year that the state must do more to integrate professional-technical programs within public schools.  Olson agreed with Nilson, and said that the state must prepare students for whatever may come their way, whether it is a career, a two-year community college, professional-technical training, or a four-year degree and beyond.

State Reps. Branden Durst, D-Boise, and Steven Thayn, R-Emmett, co-sponsored a bill which will allow students to graduate early from high school and receive a state-funded scholarship for doing so.  Olson said that he will recommend that the Boise School District jump into the program, which is a six-year pilot project.  He believes that some students are naturally more mature and able to process information than other students, which allows them to advance more quickly through schooling.  Olson feels that as education continues to evolve and morph and become more efficient, students will no longer advance simply due to age, but will rather advance only when they master subject matter.

Parents are involved with education when they feel invited by school officials, said Olson.  Parental involvement is critical to the success of the students, believes Olson, and he wants parents of older students to be a part of the education experience of children where appropriate.  He doesn’t believe that parents should dictate how or what teachers teach, but said that he feels that parents must take interest in their children’s school and show support when they can.

Olson is the highest-paid district superintendent in the state at a rate of $171,000 per year.  Olson defended that salary, only a day after telling delegates at the convention that teacher pay starts at less than $30,000 a year, which he said the state must increase.  He said that for a district the size of the Boise School District, he is underpaid when compared to some top administrators in California.  Additionally, he said that the Boise school board based his contract on a business model which measured his success. His compensation and wage increases, Olson said, were also tied to increases of pay for teachers in his district.  In his many years in the position, he said he has not received one public complaint from a district employee about his high pay grade.

The most divisive department lawmakers tackled was the attorney general’s budget. JFAC trimmed $502,400 beyond the governor’s suggested $1 million reduction. Attorney General Lawrence Wasden told JFAC that reductions to his budget could put the state’s legal position at risk and cost the state more money in the long run. “It’s a bare bones budget,” Rep. Darrell Bolz, R-Caldwell, said.

Sen. Jeff Siddoway, R-Terreton, attempted to reduce funding to a special litigation fund for the attorney general. Siddoway, a rancher, said that at first he wanted to use the $291,600 for legal efforts dealing with big horn sheep and wolves. He wanted the cut to send a message to the attorney general. “We need some aggressive people to protect our rights,” he said. “I initially wanted to put that money where I wanted to put it. I don’t want to do that anymore. I want to put that money where it will benefit the state of Idaho the most.”

Siddoway’s effort failed. Rep. Fred Wood, R-Burley, said he appreciated Siddoway’s intentions and called him brutally honest, but said the attorney general needed that money for legal work. “That fund is obligated for contingencies that we aren’t able to see,” he said.

The Division of Professional-Technical Education (PTE) saw the biggest additional reduction among budgets approved Wednesday. PTE, which manages training programs at Idaho universities, community colleges, and high schools, will see an additional $1.3 million reduction from its original spending in the current budget. Most of that reduction came from a permanent holdback in the current budget year. Sen. Dean Mortimer, R-Idaho Falls, echoed Bolz about the slim budget for the division. “It’s pretty bare bones, when we have increasing enrollment,” he said. The year-over-year reduction, including reductions from both JFAC and the governor, totals $4.1 million.

The State Appellate Public Defenders and Military Division would also see small reductions on top of the governor’s recommendations. Appellate public defenders will see an additional $66,000 in reductions, for a total cut of $190,900, which is 8.9 percent of their budget. The department will actually add a full-time attorney in the next budget, but expects that hiring to increase efficiency, since that money would have otherwise gone to pay outside lawyers, who would charge the state a higher hourly rate. “Putting that person in there is going to be much more effective and much more efficient,” Bolz said.

The Military Division would see a $474,800 reduction in general fund spending from JFAC, which is $49,000 beyond what Otter called for. State general funds cover $4.8 million, less than 10 percent of the Military Division’s $56 million budget. Federal money covers the bulk of the division’s budget.

All six budgets JFAC approved Wednesday will also see reductions, though two departments would be spared the full cuts recommended by the governor. State agricultural research and extension programs would see a $2.4 million total reduction, though Otter called for an added $202,500 reduction that lawmakers didn’t pass on. Cuts to extension programs, which have services in 42 Idaho counties, have been one area some lawmakers have tried to spare. Rep. Wendy Jaquet, D-Ketchum, said these reductions would hurt the state’s farming economy. “This will definitely have a trickle down effect with regard to jobs,” she said.

The Office of the State Board of Education would see a $2 million reduction in the next budget, which begins in July. JFAC’s recommended reduction is $6,500 less than Otter’s recommendation. That budget goes toward staff support for the education board and doesn’t go directly to public schools.

The two men, both self-made business owners who began in entry-level positions and eventually rose to the top, offered grave forecasts for the education and employment future in Idaho.  The men called on lawmakers to integrate professional technical skills at every level of education to develop a more educated and capable workforce, an asset which both men believe is in short supply in the state right now.   Sayer said production and manufacturing companies are facing an “Armageddon” situation if the state doesn’t work to correct imbalances in the workforce.

“The hardest time for me in business was when I couldn’t find employees to fill jobs,” said Sayer.  The two men also reminded lawmakers of the looming worker shortage, predicting that within five years, more than half of the workforce will retire.  Sayer speculated that as the country rises out of the recession, those who should have retired during poor economic times will see an increase in their 401ks, thus leading them into retirement.  Sayer called on lawmakers to take thelead on the issue and thus setting the stage for Idaho to become the standard in private and public sector educational partnerships.

Both criticized almost every aspect of Idaho’s education system, with Nilson claiming that the state is losing kids on every level, but particularly in the grades leading up to high school because no one holds students accountable for their work previous to ninth grade.  Sayer said education opportunities for those who drop out of school and return later to night school or adult education programs are “substandard at best.”

Nilson also addressed the psychological aspects of education as it relates to professional technical jobs in Idaho.  He cautioned that parents, guidance counselors, and teachers need to stop telling students that skill-heavy jobs, such as welding, plumbing, or electrical work, are dead end jobs.  He said that in his company, a student with a high school diploma or equivalent can start out at $13.75 an hour, or about $28,000 per year and full benefits package.  Though for many, the American dream is for every child to graduate from college with a 4 year-degree, it is a dream not achieved by all, reminded Nilson.  He said his businesses like his don’t need workers with degrees, they need kids with state-certified skill sets with good work habits, a quality which Nilson believes is lacking in the students of today.

To move forward, the state needs to change the way it delivers education in Idaho.  Sayer said he wants the state to consider pay for performance programs for teachers, which, he believes, will incentivize teachers to become more involved in the education of their students.  He also said the state must integrate professional-technical teachings at every level, beginning in kindergarten.  The state must also work to provide a well-rounded program for students who choose professional –technical programs because the types of workers the state needs are those with experience and knowledge in engineering, business, and a technical skills, said Sayer.

Another strategy vital to the success of the public and private sector partnership is the utilization of internships throughout schooling.  Though schooling is necessary to learn the basics, Sayer said, internships allow students real experience and the ability to keep up with state-of-the-art procedures and production methods.

Sayer also urged the state to not delay action on the matter and to use recession-forced higher enrollment numbers at state colleges and universities as a catalyst for the shifting in priorities.

“You have got to be moving at hyper speed,” said Sayer.

(Note: State education Superintendent Tom Luna was in attendance of the presentation by the two businessmen and you can read his response here.)