The Idaho State Board of Education has voted to eliminate a free bus service between the University of Idaho and Washington State University this summer.

The move will leave students who take courses at both schools with fewer transportation options, but the cut will also save UI and WSU each about $42,000. The two universities split the costs for the bus service through Wheatland Express. UI’s latest contract with the bus service, which hasn’t been officially signed, will also decrease bus stops during the fall and spring semesters.

The State Board of Education has decided not to require students to take the fall Idaho Standards Achievement Test next year. The exam was meant to aid educators in gaging student academic growth between fall and spring and was considered the cornerstone of the State Board’s plan to test student progress when the ISAT’s were first introduced in the early part of this decade. However, Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Luna says the exams have not lived up to their potential and the roughly $500,000 savings could be used to help restore the ninth grade spring ISAT that was lost when the Board encountered financial problems earlier this year. The exams are administered four to six weeks after school starts each year and much of school district’s educational activities and resources are geared toward the spring test. The spring ISAT is used to determine whether schools meet statewide benchmarks for academic progress under the federal No Child Left Behind Act. School districts have complained that the fall exams failed to give them the kind of information they required to help improve student instruction and overall scores. It’s estimated that nearly 280,000 students take the fall ISAT annually.

Boise State University has announced the hiring of astronaut Barbara Morgan for the newly created position of Distinguished Educator in Residence. School officials say Morgan will be a guest lecturer in the areas of science, technology, engineering and math. She will also work with both the colleges of engineering and education at the school and help shape education policy and assist with fund-raising efforts. The university is also hopeful she can help boost efforts to bring NASA programs to Idaho school districts. The former McCall-Donnelly, Idaho School District teacher went into space last year aboard the shuttle Endeavor. She has been with the space agency since the mid-1980’s when she was selected as a backup in the Teacher in Space program. Morgan received an honorary doctorate from BSU in May. The State Board of Education unanimously approved the appointment in meetings held this week in Idaho Falls. (Idaho Statesman)

The woman convicted in an eco-terror attack at the University of Washington has been sentenced to six years in prison. Seattle television station KIRO is reporting that Briana Waters asked for mercy because she has a 3-year-old daughter. Prosecutors had recommended a 10-year sentence - her lawyer asked for no more than a 5-year term. Waters was taken into custody after Thursday’s sentencing in federal court in Tacoma. She had been convicted March 6 of arson, and her lawyer is working on an appeal. The 32-year-old from Berkeley, California, was an Evergreen State College student who acted as a lookout in 2001 when others set fire to the Center for Urban Horticulture in Seattle. The Earth Liberation Front claimed responsibility because it believed, mistakenly, a researcher was genetically modifying poplar trees. (AP)

The Idaho State Board of Education on Thursday named the search committee charged with finding the next University of Idaho president.

A majority of the 16-member panel consists of university representatives, including Athletic Director Rob Spear, UI Foundation President Bill Gilbert, UI Alumni Association President Tom Limbaugh, and student body president Garrett Holbrook.

Tim White is scheduled to resign the presidency June 30 to accept a job at the University of California-Riverside. The board last week named College of Natural Resources dean Steven Daley-Laursen the university’s interim president.

Trustees Paul Agidius and Sue Thilo will steer the nationwide search for White’s permanent successor. The search committee is expected to take up to nine months to find three to five finalists for the State Board to consider for the job.

Some $3.5 million has been given to the Lewis-Clark State College Foundation since May 2005, surpassing Campaign LC’s goal by $500,000.

Several six-figure gifts were donated, with the largest being $224,000.

LCSC Director of Advancement Lori Skelton says the vast majority of the donations are earmarked for scholarships for specific academic areas or athletic teams, as only $75,000 was unrestricted.

The total value of the LCSC Foundation is about $5.2 million and officials are already planning the next fundraising campaign. It will be coordinated with the college’s strategic plan to raise donations for specific goals, including buildings, other campus facilities, and academic programs.

Idaho State University is looking into its dental education program after a whistle-blower made allegations of financial misconduct last month. The university in Pocatello began a financial audit of the Idaho Dental Education program May 12. The Pocatello Police Department also began an investigation last week. Police Capt. Steve Findley says the investigation could take up to three more weeks before findings are submitted to the Bannock County Prosecutor’s Office. So far no criminal charges have been filed. The university hosts the first year of the 4-year dental program. The final three years are based at Creighton University in Nebraska. (AP)

The University of Idaho is scheduled to update the Idaho State Board of Education on plans to open a law school branch in Boise. The board was hesitant in April to approve a two-location concept for the Moscow-based school. Trustees instead passed a motion allowing the university to draft implementation plans for the project. College of Law Dean Don Burnett says those plans will likely be finished in July. The university will report to trustees in eastern Idaho this week. Trustees have asked that the plans show expanding legal education in the state’s capital city won’t harm programs on the university campus in northern Idaho. The state constitution requires legal education to be based in Moscow.

Meanwhile, the Coeur d’Alene City Council has signaled its readiness to sign a $1.3 million lease that would keep the University of Idaho in the north Idaho resort town for nearly 200 years. The lease agreement is slated to be considered by the Idaho State Board of Education for approval at a meeting this week in Idaho Falls. If approved, the pact also would give the university the right to 2.5 acres next to North Idaho College that are currently part of a lumber mill that’s due to be shuttered and vacated. The leases are all part of efforts to create a controversial higher education corridor in Coeur d’Alene. Some in Coeur d’Alene including businessman Duane Hagadone have fought the plan, saying they’d rather see the land privatized to boost tax revenue. (AP)