There was a great turnout at last night’s Educational Corridor Forum at the CdA Inn. The walls had to be opened up to make more room for everyone. Thank you to everyone who attended! And to all who worked hard to organize the event. My newsletter tomorrow will be a review of the meeting. Until then, any comments or questions?
May 14, 2008
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I have not read this entire site today, but is there an opinion on why a “charge” for an open forum..NIC?
Mary, we’ll very much look forward to tomorrow’s newsletter and we thank you for your time spent involving yourself in these matters that concern all of us.
Comment by cda_foodies — May 14, 2008 @ 12:27 pm
A private entity has a right to charge admission to a forum that they put on. The main reason is the rental for the room. Public entities, such as NIC, have space paid for already by the taxpayer. Still, it would have been nice to have the room donated or funds raised separately and then open up the discussion for everyone. Odder still, it seems that those who support the Education Corridor no-questions-asked can only seem to harp on that admission charge and not the excellent content of the meeting.
Comment by Dan — May 14, 2008 @ 12:36 pm
It would have been better to have it free and open to the public. However, the Press article suggests that today there are about 100 people who are better informed now then they would have been had they relied on the Mayor and City Council for information. It’s also worth noting that the panel participants thought it was important enough for them to show up and be involved in the discussion. Thanks to each of the panel members who participated.
(Side note: Be glad, be very very glad that the City did not offer the Library’s Community Room for the forum. Shame on whoever did the atrocious lighting and sound design for that room and got paid for it.)
The Press article did not state that Councilman McEvers had been invited but declined to participate.
The article said Bloem was there but not invited to speak or participate on the panel. Was there not a floor microphone where audience members could address questions to the panel? Couldn’t Bloem have asked to be recognized by the moderator and then used that mic to speak up (assuming she had anything substantive to say)?
Comment by Bill — May 14, 2008 @ 1:44 pm
This was a dinner event. And an $18 charge for a dinner, in a hotel meeting room, is a good price. The per person cost to the organizers was 16. each, to which they added $2. to cover the costs of printing and mailing notices, ads, etc. All the audio visual equipment was donated to help save money. The North Idaho Education Forum is a new group that intends to hold informational events such as this several times each year. I was not part of those efforts but was asked to be on the panel and I said yes. Bill, there was a floor microphone and audience members did ask questions. In fact the questions could have gone on all night because people were very interested in this subject. But the Mayor, sitting in the back, did not come forward.
Comment by mary — May 14, 2008 @ 2:12 pm
I think it reather funny that the very people who feel put out by spending $5.00 are willing to stick the taxpayer with foregone tax bills.
Comment by Mama Bear — May 14, 2008 @ 2:34 pm
“rather”….oops! Great job on putting together the forum…it was worth every penny!
Comment by Mama Bear — May 14, 2008 @ 2:36 pm
here and in the paper i keep haering about the north idaho education forum, but nobody says who they are or what is their mission? does anyone know?
Comment by reagan — May 14, 2008 @ 8:32 pm
It’s a group of citizens, as far as I can tell. They didn’t really identify themselves at the meeting. Why is it so important to know who they are? — not that I believe it should be kept secret. Obviously if there is some agenda, then that would be important to note. For me, I’m just glad that someone is sponsoring an event that discusses this issue. I really wish Mayor Bloem had done that months ago.
Comment by Dan — May 14, 2008 @ 9:33 pm
Duane Rassmussen is the one who invited me to be on the panel. I know the group is new and is planning to organize several informational meetings a year on local issues. I would bet the topics and format will change to reflect the current events. It was a great opportunity to discuss information, ask questions and get a sense of the community’s attitudes.
Comment by mary — May 14, 2008 @ 10:43 pm