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Politics & Government

Bill Would Increase Citizens' Involvement in Education, Wiger Says

Sen. Chuck Wiger is sponsoring a bill that would reinstate the state board of education.

A bill authored by Sen. Chuck Wiger would create a state board of education made up of citizen appointees.

The state used to have such a board, Wiger said, and reinstating it would bring more direct citizen involvement into education.

He said the board was repealed at a time when the state was cutting back on its number of advisory committees, commissions and boards. The thinking was that the commissioner of education could seek out citizen input in other ways, he said.

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“I’ve had a number of people who’ve said that we’d rather have a state board of education,” he said. “It’s just strengthening the citizen role.”

Members of the committee could not be elected officials or school district employees, according to the text of the bill.

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Because the bill, S.F. 2498, was introduced after the committee deadline, Wiger said, it doesn’t have a chance of going anywhere this year. However, he’s hoping the issue will come back up in 2013. 

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