Public Parks More Important Than Schools?

Idaho Governor Dirk Kempthorne decides to use a budget surplus on expanding the state park system, when many expected more educational funding.

1 minute read

January 14, 2006, 9:00 AM PST

By David Gest


"Governor Kempthorne had an opportunity in his final State of the State address on Monday to leave a well-funded education system as his legacy. But he chose a different legacy, proposing to spend $33 million on the state park system."

"Democratic candidate for governor Jerry Brady...said his impression was of an 'emphasis on "things" instead of people,' in the speech. 'It's like he's got an edifice complex,' he said. 'The valuing of children's lives through education, and the lifting up of the middle class, will build a better Idaho than all the buildings we can propose.'"

Wednesday, January 11, 2006 in The Boise Weekly

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