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Idaho lagged behind neighboring states in teacher pay last year

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Idaho lagged behind neighboring states in teacher pay last year


BOISE – Idaho placed no higher than 36th nationally for three metrics gauging teacher and paraprofessional pay during the 2022-23 school year, according to recently released National Education Association rankings. 

The rankings are dated — and they don’t account for recent state investments in teacher pay. But they provide a retrospective snapshot that illustrates how Idaho stacked up against neighboring states as local schools have struggled to recruit and retain teachers. 

Last school year, Idaho ranked 36th nationally for starting teacher pay, a marked improvement from 48th place a decade ago. But it still lagged behind most neighboring states on benchmark salaries in addition to average teacher compensation and paraprofessional pay. 

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NEA, the national teachers’ union, annually compiles salary data for the prior school year. The group releases the data in the spring — when school districts are negotiating teacher contracts. 

Nationally, “modest gains” were made in teacher pay, the union said in a news release. The average salary across the U.S. last school year was $69,544, up 4.1% from 2021-22. NEA President Becky Pringle credited unions for demanding “more for their students, more professional respect and more pay.” 

On average, Idaho school districts paid teachers $56,365 last school year. That was a 4% increase from 2021-22, and it moved up the state two spots in the rankings. Idaho’s $41,179 baseline salary last school year also lagged behind the $44,530 national average.

The Idaho State Board of Education’s annual Educator Pipeline Report, last released in December, pointed to bordering states’ salaries as a possible factor hurting Idaho’s teacher retention. In Washington, for instance, teachers last year earned $20,439 more on average, according to the NEA rankings.

Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming all paid higher benchmark and average teacher salaries than Idaho last school year. Montana, which was last among those states in the other categories, outpaced Idaho on paraprofessional pay. 

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Here’s how Idaho stacked up against neighboring states during the 2022-23 school year, along with each state’s national ranking. The rankings included all 50 states plus Washington, D.C. 

Starting teacher pay: 

3. Washington $55,631

10. Utah $49,555

14. Wyoming $48,622

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22. Nevada $43,695

32. Oregon $42,050

36. Idaho $41,179

51. Montana $34,476

Average teacher pay:

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6. Washington $86,804

13. Oregon $72,476

23. Utah $63,481

26. Wyoming $61,797

27. Nevada $61,719

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40. Idaho $56,365

42. Montana $55,909

Paraprofessional pay:

11. Washington $37,334

12. Nevada $36,900

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16. Utah $34,893

21. Oregon $33,838

26. Wyoming $31,963

28. Montana $31,642

50. Idaho $26,628 

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Idaho school districts rely on state funding to pay teachers and staff, although the salaries are set locally.

Madison Hardy, Gov. Brad Little’s spokeswoman, said the NEA rankings are based on data collected before Little’s “Idaho First” plan increased state funding per teacher by $6,359 during the 2023 legislative session. The investment lifted Idaho’s average teacher pay 9.1% to $61,516 this school year. And the average starting teacher pay across all districts is now $45,680.

“Gov. Little is proud of the huge increases Idaho has championed for teacher take-home pay across the board, including starting teacher pay, and he will continue to push for investments in Idaho teachers to benefit students and families,” Hardy said by email.

Little has previously said the raises put the state in the top 10 nationally for starting teacher pay. Idaho Education News revealed why that claim was misleading, in part because it relied on even more outdated NEA rankings. Next year’s rankings will show how the state compares post-Idaho First salary hikes.

Meanwhile, the latest rankings represent an improvement over Idaho’s “rock-bottom” place in the recent past, said Idaho Education Association President Layne McInelly. The teachers’ union leader lauded the governor and Legislature’s effort to increase teacher pay, but said Idaho still ranks “far lower than IEA members and other Idaho educators deserve.”

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“All educators deserve pay, benefits and a work environment reflecting the importance of their work on behalf of Idaho students and families, their personal investment in their discipline and their professional expertise — just as we would expect any professional to be paid their worth,” McInelly said by email.



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Interstate 84 near Mountain Home back open after utility work

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Interstate 84 near Mountain Home back open after utility work


MOUNTAIN HOME, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) — Interstate 84 near Mountain Home is back open after crews closed the freeway due to utility work.

Crews closed westbound and eastbound lanes on Saturday morning from milepost 90 to milepost 95 due to Idaho Power working on power lines in the area, according to the Elmore County Sheriff’s Office. All lanes are now back open in both directions.

The sheriff’s office and the Mountain Home Police Department apologized for the inconvenience, saying they were just informed of the closure on Saturday morning.

More information regarding road closures and traffic conditions can be found at the Idaho Transportation Department’s 511 map.

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Idaho murder victims’ families file wrongful death lawsuit against Washington State University

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Idaho murder victims’ families file wrongful death lawsuit against Washington State University


The families of the four University of Idaho students killed in a brutal 2022 stabbing attack have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Washington State University (WSU), alleging the school ignored repeated warning signs about Bryan Kohberger.

The civil complaint, filed Jan. 7 in Skagit County Superior Court, was brought by Steve Goncalves, father of Kaylee Goncalves; Karen Laramie, mother of Madison Mogen; Jeffrey Kernodle, father of Xana Kernodle; and Stacy Chapin, mother of Ethan Chapin.

The lawsuit accuses WSU of gross negligence, wrongful death and violations of federal education laws, including Title IX. The plaintiffs are seeking unspecified monetary damages.

Attorney Robert Clifford, senior partner at Clifford Law Offices, said that the decision to leave damages “unspecified” is a strategic norm in high-stakes litigation because it prevents the focus from shifting towards sensationalism and keeps the decision firmly in the hands of the jury.

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“Ultimately, that’s to be determined and answered by the jury,” said Clifford, who is not involved in the lawsuit. “But you have some compelling facts and the liability is going to depend on the strength of what the school knew.”

The brother and parents of Kaylee Goncalves speak after Bryan Kohberger’s sentencing hearing at the Ada County Courthouse on July 23, 2025. Reuters
Bryan Kohberger in police custody after his arrest in December 2022. Moscow Police Department
Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle were found dead inside an off-campus apartment in Moscow, Idaho.

Despite Kohberger’s guilty plea in the murders, Clifford explained the civil case remains strong because the families face a lower burden of proof – requiring only a preponderance of evidence to establish the university’s liability.

“The mere fact that he pled guilty might not even be admissible in the civil proceeding because he’s not the defendant, right? If he is a defendant in the civil proceeding, then his plea of guilty will be important. And indeed, this school might try to use that to say, ‘See, it wasn’t our fault. He admits that it was his fault.’ But the bar is different for someone in a criminal proceeding than it is in a civil proceeding.”

According to the lawsuit, WSU hired Kohberger as a teaching assistant in its criminal justice and criminology department and provided him with a salary, tuition benefits, health insurance and on-campus housing.

The victims’ families allege the university had extensive authority over Kohberger’s conduct but failed to act despite mounting concerns.

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Here’s the latest coverage on Bryan Kohberger:


The complaint says WSU received at least 13 formal reports accusing Kohberger of threatening, stalking, harassing or predatory behavior toward female students and staff during the fall 2022 semester. The families argue university officials did not meaningfully investigate those complaints or remove Kohberger from campus before the murders – even though they had the authority to do so.

The lawsuit also alleges that the university failed to use its own threat-assessment systems designed to identify individuals who pose a risk of violence, even as concerns about Kohberger escalated. Instead, the families claim, the university continued to employ him, house him and give him access to students.

“The murders were foreseeable and preventable,” the complaint states, alleging WSU prioritized avoiding legal and reputational risk over student safety.

Madison Mogen’s mother, Karen Laramie, and stepfather, Scott Laramie, leave the courthouse after Bryan Kohberger’s sentencing hearing. Reuters
Bryan Kohberger appears at the Ada County Courthouse in Boise, Idaho, on July 23, 2025. Getty Images

The lawsuit also alleges broad failures within the public university, including alleged dysfunction within campus police and compliance officers who are responsible for handling accusations of misconduct, including sexual harassment and stalking.

Kohberger pleaded guilty in July 2025 to four counts of first-degree murder and burglary. He was sentenced to four consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole.

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Prosecutors said Kohberger stabbed the four students in the early morning hours of Nov. 13, 2022, inside an off-campus rental home in Moscow, Idaho, just miles from the WSU campus in Pullman, Washington.

Karen Laramie, mother of Madison Mogan, and Kristi Goncalves, Kaylee Goncalves’ mother, embrace after the sentencing hearing for their daughters’ murderer. Reuters
Washington State University in Pullman, Washington. Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Kohberger was arrested in Pennsylvania in December 2022 following a multi-state investigation.

Authorities linked him to the crime through DNA evidence, surveillance video and cellphone data showing repeated late-night trips near the victims’ home.

WSU has not yet filed a response to the lawsuit. Fox News Digital has reached out to WSU for comment.

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Turkey Town Hall to be held at the end of January to discuss North End nuisance

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Turkey Town Hall to be held at the end of January to discuss North End nuisance


BOISE, Idaho — At the end of January, Boise City Councilmember Jimmy Hallyburton will hold a town hall meeting to discuss the growing population of wild turkeys in the North End. The meeting, which is set to take place at Lowell Elementary School on January 29 at 7 p.m., will center around education and how to treat wildlife in an urban setting.

The public meeting will feature speakers from the Boise Parks and Recreation Department, Idaho Fish & Game, and Councilmember Hallyburton.

Hallyburton told Idaho News 6 over the phone that the meeting was prompted by damaging and, in some cases, violent behavior by wild turkeys in the North End. Residents in the area have reported turkeys scratching cars with their talons, ruining vegetable gardens, sparring with domesticated dogs & cats, and even becoming aggressive towards human beings.

A viewer in the North End recently shared a video with Idaho News 6 that shows a flock of turkeys accosting a postal service worker. Thankfully, a dog intervened and saved the USPS worker from further harm.

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See the video of the attack below

Hallyburton said that the North End community needs to take a focused approach to how it deals with the turkeys. “We’re making it too easy for them to live in the North End,” Hallyburton said. “We need to make our urban areas less habitable for the turkeys.”

The North End councilmember goes on to explain that residents who are feeding or treating the turkeys as pets are creating an environment in which human vs. wildlife conflict is more likely. “You might think that you’re helping the turkeys, but you’re actually causing them harm over the long term,” said Hallyburton.

Hallyburton added that the population of turkeys in the area has ballooned from a single flock of around a dozen turkeys to multiple flocks and roughly 40 turkeys. They are mostly located in the residential area of the North End between 18th and 28th streets.

Idaho Fish & Game recommends “gentle hazing” to keep turkeys from roosting in urban areas. This can include squirting turkeys with water when they approach one’s property.

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Since transplanting wildlife has become more difficult in recent years due to new laws, the only other option for the turkeys would be extermination, which Hallyburton said he would like to avoid at all costs.

WATCH: Wild turkeys take over Boise’s North End

Wild turkeys turn Boise’s North End into their new roost





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