Spokane CC is working to get more Native students into climate programs
Spokane Community College will receive federal money to guide Native American students through its natural resources degree programs.
Washington’s U.S. senators say the federal government is awarding money to six two-year colleges in the Evergreen State to increase Native participation in climate change-related programs.
“So many of the natural resources and environmental sciences jobs in our state are with tribes and tribes want to hire their own people and so they desperately need people to complete these degrees,” said Jaclyn Jacot, interim vice president of instruction at Spokane Community College.
Jacot said SCC will hire a person to work with students from the Colville and Spokane tribes.
“The tribal navigator position is really meant to ensure retention and success,” she said.
SCC will receive about $600,000 over the next four years. Besides a tribal navigator, it will also hire I.T. support for the college’s rural campuses in Inchelium and Wellpinit.
Durst sues West Bonner school district
Branden Durst, the former superintendent of the West Bonner school district, is filing suit against the district’s board over his departure last fall.
In the suit, first reported by Idaho Ed News, Durst claims the board intentionally misrepresented a letter he wrote last September offering to “seek an amicable and fair exit” from the superintendent’s seat. Though the board interpreted his letter as a resignation notice, Durst now claims it wasn’t. He contends the board’s acceptance of his departure breached his employment contract.
The district disputed all of Durst’s claims in April court documents. Both sides have asked for a jury trial.
Durst’s tenure as West Bonner superintendent was brief and stormy. A former board majority voted to hire durst in June 2023, despite questions about his qualifications for the position. At the time, Durst was an analyst with the right-wing Idaho Freedom Foundation who had no experience in teaching or school administration.
Inslee touts impact of CCA
Washington Governor Jay Inslee is showing off some of the first major investments from his signature climate legislation.
Visiting a Seattle neighborhood this week, Inslee previewed a new solar array for a stormwater treatment plant. The project is funded by revenue from the Climate Commitment Act.
Inslee said a Republican-backed initiative to repeal key parts of the act might cripple such projects in the future.
“They would have eliminated this project," he said. "And this – if this initiative became law, they would have eliminated all the assistance for electric school busses and air filtration systems for our schools.”
The solar project is part of the largest funding round yet from the Climate Commitment Act: 73 million dollars for 71 projects around the state.
The money comes from a carbon auction in which companies pay millions to pollute the atmosphere. Republicans say the auctions are responsible for driving up gas prices, though no clear link has been established.
Voters will decide in November whether to outlaw the carbon auctions.
Opioid settlement money arrives in Washington
Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson says $123.34 million dollars from a pharmaceutical settlement has arrived.
The money stems from Ferguson’s 2020 lawsuit against drugmaker Johnson and Johnson. The suit alleged J&J played a key role in producing and marketing addictive opioid medications, including oxycodone and hydrocodone.
Terms of the settlement dictate that half the money goes to state government, and the other half is being sent to local governments. Spokane will see $1.7 million, Spokane County will get a shade over $3 million, and Spokane Valley will get $37,681.
Local governments can decide how to spend the money, but it can be applied only on projects to combat the opioid and fentanyl epidemics.
Ferguson’s office says the attorney general’s suits against opioid makers and distributors has betted more than a billion dollars for the state. Two more lawsuits are still pending.
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Reporting contributed by Brandon Hollingsworth, Doug Nadvornick, Scott Greenstone and Ryan Suppe.