Latest news with #Manwaring
The Advertiser
24-05-2025
- Climate
- The Advertiser
'This is really scary': farmers battle historic drought
Farmer Paul Manwaring has been living in the shadow of rain. The cattle breeder has watched for months as promising forecasts disappear, while the occasional shower creates patches of growth on the parched plains around Cootamundra, in southwestern NSW. "It's all green where a storm went through, but 200 metres down the road it's desolate," Mr Manwaring told AAP. The region is in the grips of disaster, according to the NSW drought indicator, part of a large area lit up in orange on the map. Surrounding regions are also drying out, expected to slip into drought by mid-winter. "(The rain) keeps either going north or south of us and we just keep being in that shadow," Mr Manwaring said. After a hot summer, the mild and wet autumn break that farmers typically expect did not come. Scattered rain across parts of the district in recent days arrived too late as producers had already made tough decisions. Mr Manwaring, who runs a small livestock operation, sold his sheep in spring in anticipation of the dry, figuring that a run of good seasons would turn. Others have had to pull up their crops, change their planting regimes or sell stock in a busy market, necessary moves that will affect farm incomes for years. "Even when it does rain, it's going to take a while to grow feed for all the livestock," Mr Manwaring said. Much of southern Australia is in drought at the same time as the NSW Hunter and mid-north coast regions face a major flood emergency, with five months' rain falling there in two days. April rainfall has been well below average across much of Victoria, Tasmania, southern NSW, eastern SA, and the west coast and interior of WA, according to the Bureau of Meteorology's drought statement. Tasmania recorded its driest April in a decade, with falls 50 per cent below the 40-year average. South Australia has also been hit particularly hard, with $2 billion wiped from the state's economy after the worst harvest in 15 years. Cassie Oster, whose family runs a grazing and cropping operation at Jabuk, about 150km southeast of Adelaide, says producers on the marginal country are always prepared for dry conditions. But this drought is particularly brutal. "We are at a point where we're like ... this is really scary," Ms Oster said. "The decisions we're having to make are things that we've never been faced with before." The family has sold off more than 1000 sheep and abandoned several crops. Those kinds of decisions make it harder for farmers to buy back into the market after the drought breaks, when they are also likely to face higher costs of inputs, machinery and fuel. Drought conditions have been slowly creeping in since early 2023, mostly in regions with western-facing coastlines. Dry periods have been historically linked to the El Nino climate pattern, but Australian scientists have identified more nuance in what triggers low rainfall. Droughts develop when weather systems that lift and carry moisture from the ocean disappear, a recent scientific review found. That has been the case for months across the south, with slow-moving high pressure systems dominating and bringing warm and dry conditions with them. There has been a long-term shift towards drier conditions in southern Australia, according to the weather bureau's 2024 climate change report. As the dry takes hold and forecasts fail to offer any certainty, farming groups have been calling for greater drought awareness and support. Ms Oster is one of many farmers backing a petition for a formal drought declaration to unlock emergency funds, something the SA government says it cannot do under a federal agreement. She said the national drought plan, which aims to make farmers financially self-reliant, is all very well in a typical scenario. Most farmers spend the good years preparing for the bad, but the last few seasons have made that nearly impossible. "It's like no other drought we've ever seen," Ms Oster said. The Victorian Farmers Federation has urged politicians to spend more time in the regions. "Mental health is a huge concern: when farmers feel isolated, unsupported and forgotten, the consequences can be devastating for individuals and entire communities," president Brett Hosking said. Eileen Jorgensen, who has spent a lifetime farming in Victoria, has noticed growers becoming more open about the mental toll of drought. But distressed farmers talking to each other could only help for so long, she said. "That is probably the darker side of the drought," Ms Jorgensen told AAP while looking out the window at her drying paddocks in the Wimmera region, in the state's west. The Jorgensens, who grow grain and raise sheep and Clydesdale horses, are able to keep their stock watered by the Wimmera Mallee pipeline that was built after successive droughts in the early 2000s. But others further south are having to cart water and source increasingly expensive stock feed. Ms Jorgensen remains pragmatic, having grown up working in her father's market garden watching bad seasons come and go. "You just know it's going to rain eventually," she said. "It may not be tomorrow, it may not be next month, but it will rain." Lifeline 13 11 14 beyondblue 1300 22 4636 Farmer Paul Manwaring has been living in the shadow of rain. The cattle breeder has watched for months as promising forecasts disappear, while the occasional shower creates patches of growth on the parched plains around Cootamundra, in southwestern NSW. "It's all green where a storm went through, but 200 metres down the road it's desolate," Mr Manwaring told AAP. The region is in the grips of disaster, according to the NSW drought indicator, part of a large area lit up in orange on the map. Surrounding regions are also drying out, expected to slip into drought by mid-winter. "(The rain) keeps either going north or south of us and we just keep being in that shadow," Mr Manwaring said. After a hot summer, the mild and wet autumn break that farmers typically expect did not come. Scattered rain across parts of the district in recent days arrived too late as producers had already made tough decisions. Mr Manwaring, who runs a small livestock operation, sold his sheep in spring in anticipation of the dry, figuring that a run of good seasons would turn. Others have had to pull up their crops, change their planting regimes or sell stock in a busy market, necessary moves that will affect farm incomes for years. "Even when it does rain, it's going to take a while to grow feed for all the livestock," Mr Manwaring said. Much of southern Australia is in drought at the same time as the NSW Hunter and mid-north coast regions face a major flood emergency, with five months' rain falling there in two days. April rainfall has been well below average across much of Victoria, Tasmania, southern NSW, eastern SA, and the west coast and interior of WA, according to the Bureau of Meteorology's drought statement. Tasmania recorded its driest April in a decade, with falls 50 per cent below the 40-year average. South Australia has also been hit particularly hard, with $2 billion wiped from the state's economy after the worst harvest in 15 years. Cassie Oster, whose family runs a grazing and cropping operation at Jabuk, about 150km southeast of Adelaide, says producers on the marginal country are always prepared for dry conditions. But this drought is particularly brutal. "We are at a point where we're like ... this is really scary," Ms Oster said. "The decisions we're having to make are things that we've never been faced with before." The family has sold off more than 1000 sheep and abandoned several crops. Those kinds of decisions make it harder for farmers to buy back into the market after the drought breaks, when they are also likely to face higher costs of inputs, machinery and fuel. Drought conditions have been slowly creeping in since early 2023, mostly in regions with western-facing coastlines. Dry periods have been historically linked to the El Nino climate pattern, but Australian scientists have identified more nuance in what triggers low rainfall. Droughts develop when weather systems that lift and carry moisture from the ocean disappear, a recent scientific review found. That has been the case for months across the south, with slow-moving high pressure systems dominating and bringing warm and dry conditions with them. There has been a long-term shift towards drier conditions in southern Australia, according to the weather bureau's 2024 climate change report. As the dry takes hold and forecasts fail to offer any certainty, farming groups have been calling for greater drought awareness and support. Ms Oster is one of many farmers backing a petition for a formal drought declaration to unlock emergency funds, something the SA government says it cannot do under a federal agreement. She said the national drought plan, which aims to make farmers financially self-reliant, is all very well in a typical scenario. Most farmers spend the good years preparing for the bad, but the last few seasons have made that nearly impossible. "It's like no other drought we've ever seen," Ms Oster said. The Victorian Farmers Federation has urged politicians to spend more time in the regions. "Mental health is a huge concern: when farmers feel isolated, unsupported and forgotten, the consequences can be devastating for individuals and entire communities," president Brett Hosking said. Eileen Jorgensen, who has spent a lifetime farming in Victoria, has noticed growers becoming more open about the mental toll of drought. But distressed farmers talking to each other could only help for so long, she said. "That is probably the darker side of the drought," Ms Jorgensen told AAP while looking out the window at her drying paddocks in the Wimmera region, in the state's west. The Jorgensens, who grow grain and raise sheep and Clydesdale horses, are able to keep their stock watered by the Wimmera Mallee pipeline that was built after successive droughts in the early 2000s. But others further south are having to cart water and source increasingly expensive stock feed. Ms Jorgensen remains pragmatic, having grown up working in her father's market garden watching bad seasons come and go. "You just know it's going to rain eventually," she said. "It may not be tomorrow, it may not be next month, but it will rain." Lifeline 13 11 14 beyondblue 1300 22 4636 Farmer Paul Manwaring has been living in the shadow of rain. The cattle breeder has watched for months as promising forecasts disappear, while the occasional shower creates patches of growth on the parched plains around Cootamundra, in southwestern NSW. "It's all green where a storm went through, but 200 metres down the road it's desolate," Mr Manwaring told AAP. The region is in the grips of disaster, according to the NSW drought indicator, part of a large area lit up in orange on the map. Surrounding regions are also drying out, expected to slip into drought by mid-winter. "(The rain) keeps either going north or south of us and we just keep being in that shadow," Mr Manwaring said. After a hot summer, the mild and wet autumn break that farmers typically expect did not come. Scattered rain across parts of the district in recent days arrived too late as producers had already made tough decisions. Mr Manwaring, who runs a small livestock operation, sold his sheep in spring in anticipation of the dry, figuring that a run of good seasons would turn. Others have had to pull up their crops, change their planting regimes or sell stock in a busy market, necessary moves that will affect farm incomes for years. "Even when it does rain, it's going to take a while to grow feed for all the livestock," Mr Manwaring said. Much of southern Australia is in drought at the same time as the NSW Hunter and mid-north coast regions face a major flood emergency, with five months' rain falling there in two days. April rainfall has been well below average across much of Victoria, Tasmania, southern NSW, eastern SA, and the west coast and interior of WA, according to the Bureau of Meteorology's drought statement. Tasmania recorded its driest April in a decade, with falls 50 per cent below the 40-year average. South Australia has also been hit particularly hard, with $2 billion wiped from the state's economy after the worst harvest in 15 years. Cassie Oster, whose family runs a grazing and cropping operation at Jabuk, about 150km southeast of Adelaide, says producers on the marginal country are always prepared for dry conditions. But this drought is particularly brutal. "We are at a point where we're like ... this is really scary," Ms Oster said. "The decisions we're having to make are things that we've never been faced with before." The family has sold off more than 1000 sheep and abandoned several crops. Those kinds of decisions make it harder for farmers to buy back into the market after the drought breaks, when they are also likely to face higher costs of inputs, machinery and fuel. Drought conditions have been slowly creeping in since early 2023, mostly in regions with western-facing coastlines. Dry periods have been historically linked to the El Nino climate pattern, but Australian scientists have identified more nuance in what triggers low rainfall. Droughts develop when weather systems that lift and carry moisture from the ocean disappear, a recent scientific review found. That has been the case for months across the south, with slow-moving high pressure systems dominating and bringing warm and dry conditions with them. There has been a long-term shift towards drier conditions in southern Australia, according to the weather bureau's 2024 climate change report. As the dry takes hold and forecasts fail to offer any certainty, farming groups have been calling for greater drought awareness and support. Ms Oster is one of many farmers backing a petition for a formal drought declaration to unlock emergency funds, something the SA government says it cannot do under a federal agreement. She said the national drought plan, which aims to make farmers financially self-reliant, is all very well in a typical scenario. Most farmers spend the good years preparing for the bad, but the last few seasons have made that nearly impossible. "It's like no other drought we've ever seen," Ms Oster said. The Victorian Farmers Federation has urged politicians to spend more time in the regions. "Mental health is a huge concern: when farmers feel isolated, unsupported and forgotten, the consequences can be devastating for individuals and entire communities," president Brett Hosking said. Eileen Jorgensen, who has spent a lifetime farming in Victoria, has noticed growers becoming more open about the mental toll of drought. But distressed farmers talking to each other could only help for so long, she said. "That is probably the darker side of the drought," Ms Jorgensen told AAP while looking out the window at her drying paddocks in the Wimmera region, in the state's west. The Jorgensens, who grow grain and raise sheep and Clydesdale horses, are able to keep their stock watered by the Wimmera Mallee pipeline that was built after successive droughts in the early 2000s. But others further south are having to cart water and source increasingly expensive stock feed. Ms Jorgensen remains pragmatic, having grown up working in her father's market garden watching bad seasons come and go. "You just know it's going to rain eventually," she said. "It may not be tomorrow, it may not be next month, but it will rain." Lifeline 13 11 14 beyondblue 1300 22 4636 Farmer Paul Manwaring has been living in the shadow of rain. The cattle breeder has watched for months as promising forecasts disappear, while the occasional shower creates patches of growth on the parched plains around Cootamundra, in southwestern NSW. "It's all green where a storm went through, but 200 metres down the road it's desolate," Mr Manwaring told AAP. The region is in the grips of disaster, according to the NSW drought indicator, part of a large area lit up in orange on the map. Surrounding regions are also drying out, expected to slip into drought by mid-winter. "(The rain) keeps either going north or south of us and we just keep being in that shadow," Mr Manwaring said. After a hot summer, the mild and wet autumn break that farmers typically expect did not come. Scattered rain across parts of the district in recent days arrived too late as producers had already made tough decisions. Mr Manwaring, who runs a small livestock operation, sold his sheep in spring in anticipation of the dry, figuring that a run of good seasons would turn. Others have had to pull up their crops, change their planting regimes or sell stock in a busy market, necessary moves that will affect farm incomes for years. "Even when it does rain, it's going to take a while to grow feed for all the livestock," Mr Manwaring said. Much of southern Australia is in drought at the same time as the NSW Hunter and mid-north coast regions face a major flood emergency, with five months' rain falling there in two days. April rainfall has been well below average across much of Victoria, Tasmania, southern NSW, eastern SA, and the west coast and interior of WA, according to the Bureau of Meteorology's drought statement. Tasmania recorded its driest April in a decade, with falls 50 per cent below the 40-year average. South Australia has also been hit particularly hard, with $2 billion wiped from the state's economy after the worst harvest in 15 years. Cassie Oster, whose family runs a grazing and cropping operation at Jabuk, about 150km southeast of Adelaide, says producers on the marginal country are always prepared for dry conditions. But this drought is particularly brutal. "We are at a point where we're like ... this is really scary," Ms Oster said. "The decisions we're having to make are things that we've never been faced with before." The family has sold off more than 1000 sheep and abandoned several crops. Those kinds of decisions make it harder for farmers to buy back into the market after the drought breaks, when they are also likely to face higher costs of inputs, machinery and fuel. Drought conditions have been slowly creeping in since early 2023, mostly in regions with western-facing coastlines. Dry periods have been historically linked to the El Nino climate pattern, but Australian scientists have identified more nuance in what triggers low rainfall. Droughts develop when weather systems that lift and carry moisture from the ocean disappear, a recent scientific review found. That has been the case for months across the south, with slow-moving high pressure systems dominating and bringing warm and dry conditions with them. There has been a long-term shift towards drier conditions in southern Australia, according to the weather bureau's 2024 climate change report. As the dry takes hold and forecasts fail to offer any certainty, farming groups have been calling for greater drought awareness and support. Ms Oster is one of many farmers backing a petition for a formal drought declaration to unlock emergency funds, something the SA government says it cannot do under a federal agreement. She said the national drought plan, which aims to make farmers financially self-reliant, is all very well in a typical scenario. Most farmers spend the good years preparing for the bad, but the last few seasons have made that nearly impossible. "It's like no other drought we've ever seen," Ms Oster said. The Victorian Farmers Federation has urged politicians to spend more time in the regions. "Mental health is a huge concern: when farmers feel isolated, unsupported and forgotten, the consequences can be devastating for individuals and entire communities," president Brett Hosking said. Eileen Jorgensen, who has spent a lifetime farming in Victoria, has noticed growers becoming more open about the mental toll of drought. But distressed farmers talking to each other could only help for so long, she said. "That is probably the darker side of the drought," Ms Jorgensen told AAP while looking out the window at her drying paddocks in the Wimmera region, in the state's west. The Jorgensens, who grow grain and raise sheep and Clydesdale horses, are able to keep their stock watered by the Wimmera Mallee pipeline that was built after successive droughts in the early 2000s. But others further south are having to cart water and source increasingly expensive stock feed. Ms Jorgensen remains pragmatic, having grown up working in her father's market garden watching bad seasons come and go. "You just know it's going to rain eventually," she said. "It may not be tomorrow, it may not be next month, but it will rain." Lifeline 13 11 14 beyondblue 1300 22 4636
West Australian
24-05-2025
- Climate
- West Australian
'This is really scary': farmers battle historic drought
Farmer Paul Manwaring has been living in the shadow of rain. The cattle breeder has watched for months as promising forecasts disappear, while the occasional shower creates patches of growth on the parched plains around Cootamundra, in southwestern NSW. "It's all green where a storm went through, but 200 metres down the road it's desolate," Mr Manwaring told AAP. The region is in the grips of disaster, according to the NSW drought indicator, part of a large area lit up in orange on the map. Surrounding regions are also drying out, expected to slip into drought by mid-winter. "(The rain) keeps either going north or south of us and we just keep being in that shadow," Mr Manwaring said. After a hot summer, the mild and wet autumn break that farmers typically expect did not come. Scattered rain across parts of the district in recent days arrived too late as producers had already made tough decisions. Mr Manwaring, who runs a small livestock operation, sold his sheep in spring in anticipation of the dry, figuring that a run of good seasons would turn. Others have had to pull up their crops, change their planting regimes or sell stock in a busy market, necessary moves that will affect farm incomes for years. "Even when it does rain, it's going to take a while to grow feed for all the livestock," Mr Manwaring said. Much of southern Australia is in drought at the same time as the NSW Hunter and mid-north coast regions face a major flood emergency, with five months' rain falling there in two days. April rainfall has been well below average across much of Victoria, Tasmania, southern NSW, eastern SA, and the west coast and interior of WA, according to the Bureau of Meteorology's drought statement. Tasmania recorded its driest April in a decade, with falls 50 per cent below the 40-year average. South Australia has also been hit particularly hard, with $2 billion wiped from the state's economy after the worst harvest in 15 years. Cassie Oster, whose family runs a grazing and cropping operation at Jabuk, about 150km southeast of Adelaide, says producers on the marginal country are always prepared for dry conditions. But this drought is particularly brutal. "We are at a point where we're like ... this is really scary," Ms Oster said. "The decisions we're having to make are things that we've never been faced with before." The family has sold off more than 1000 sheep and abandoned several crops. Those kinds of decisions make it harder for farmers to buy back into the market after the drought breaks, when they are also likely to face higher costs of inputs, machinery and fuel. Drought conditions have been slowly creeping in since early 2023, mostly in regions with western-facing coastlines. Dry periods have been historically linked to the El Nino climate pattern, but Australian scientists have identified more nuance in what triggers low rainfall. Droughts develop when weather systems that lift and carry moisture from the ocean disappear, a recent scientific review found. That has been the case for months across the south, with slow-moving high pressure systems dominating and bringing warm and dry conditions with them. There has been a long-term shift towards drier conditions in southern Australia, according to the weather bureau's 2024 climate change report. As the dry takes hold and forecasts fail to offer any certainty, farming groups have been calling for greater drought awareness and support. Ms Oster is one of many farmers backing a petition for a formal drought declaration to unlock emergency funds, something the SA government says it cannot do under a federal agreement. She said the national drought plan, which aims to make farmers financially self-reliant, is all very well in a typical scenario. Most farmers spend the good years preparing for the bad, but the last few seasons have made that nearly impossible. "It's like no other drought we've ever seen," Ms Oster said. The Victorian Farmers Federation has urged politicians to spend more time in the regions. "Mental health is a huge concern: when farmers feel isolated, unsupported and forgotten, the consequences can be devastating for individuals and entire communities," president Brett Hosking said. Eileen Jorgensen, who has spent a lifetime farming in Victoria, has noticed growers becoming more open about the mental toll of drought. But distressed farmers talking to each other could only help for so long, she said. "That is probably the darker side of the drought," Ms Jorgensen told AAP while looking out the window at her drying paddocks in the Wimmera region, in the state's west. The Jorgensens, who grow grain and raise sheep and Clydesdale horses, are able to keep their stock watered by the Wimmera Mallee pipeline that was built after successive droughts in the early 2000s. But others further south are having to cart water and source increasingly expensive stock feed. Ms Jorgensen remains pragmatic, having grown up working in her father's market garden watching bad seasons come and go. "You just know it's going to rain eventually," she said. "It may not be tomorrow, it may not be next month, but it will rain." Lifeline 13 11 14 beyondblue 1300 22 4636
Perth Now
24-05-2025
- Climate
- Perth Now
'This is really scary': farmers battle historic drought
Farmer Paul Manwaring has been living in the shadow of rain. The cattle breeder has watched for months as promising forecasts disappear, while the occasional shower creates patches of growth on the parched plains around Cootamundra, in southwestern NSW. "It's all green where a storm went through, but 200 metres down the road it's desolate," Mr Manwaring told AAP. The region is in the grips of disaster, according to the NSW drought indicator, part of a large area lit up in orange on the map. Surrounding regions are also drying out, expected to slip into drought by mid-winter. "(The rain) keeps either going north or south of us and we just keep being in that shadow," Mr Manwaring said. After a hot summer, the mild and wet autumn break that farmers typically expect did not come. Scattered rain across parts of the district in recent days arrived too late as producers had already made tough decisions. Mr Manwaring, who runs a small livestock operation, sold his sheep in spring in anticipation of the dry, figuring that a run of good seasons would turn. Others have had to pull up their crops, change their planting regimes or sell stock in a busy market, necessary moves that will affect farm incomes for years. "Even when it does rain, it's going to take a while to grow feed for all the livestock," Mr Manwaring said. Much of southern Australia is in drought at the same time as the NSW Hunter and mid-north coast regions face a major flood emergency, with five months' rain falling there in two days. April rainfall has been well below average across much of Victoria, Tasmania, southern NSW, eastern SA, and the west coast and interior of WA, according to the Bureau of Meteorology's drought statement. Tasmania recorded its driest April in a decade, with falls 50 per cent below the 40-year average. South Australia has also been hit particularly hard, with $2 billion wiped from the state's economy after the worst harvest in 15 years. Cassie Oster, whose family runs a grazing and cropping operation at Jabuk, about 150km southeast of Adelaide, says producers on the marginal country are always prepared for dry conditions. But this drought is particularly brutal. "We are at a point where we're like ... this is really scary," Ms Oster said. "The decisions we're having to make are things that we've never been faced with before." The family has sold off more than 1000 sheep and abandoned several crops. Those kinds of decisions make it harder for farmers to buy back into the market after the drought breaks, when they are also likely to face higher costs of inputs, machinery and fuel. Drought conditions have been slowly creeping in since early 2023, mostly in regions with western-facing coastlines. Dry periods have been historically linked to the El Nino climate pattern, but Australian scientists have identified more nuance in what triggers low rainfall. Droughts develop when weather systems that lift and carry moisture from the ocean disappear, a recent scientific review found. That has been the case for months across the south, with slow-moving high pressure systems dominating and bringing warm and dry conditions with them. There has been a long-term shift towards drier conditions in southern Australia, according to the weather bureau's 2024 climate change report. As the dry takes hold and forecasts fail to offer any certainty, farming groups have been calling for greater drought awareness and support. Ms Oster is one of many farmers backing a petition for a formal drought declaration to unlock emergency funds, something the SA government says it cannot do under a federal agreement. She said the national drought plan, which aims to make farmers financially self-reliant, is all very well in a typical scenario. Most farmers spend the good years preparing for the bad, but the last few seasons have made that nearly impossible. "It's like no other drought we've ever seen," Ms Oster said. The Victorian Farmers Federation has urged politicians to spend more time in the regions. "Mental health is a huge concern: when farmers feel isolated, unsupported and forgotten, the consequences can be devastating for individuals and entire communities," president Brett Hosking said. Eileen Jorgensen, who has spent a lifetime farming in Victoria, has noticed growers becoming more open about the mental toll of drought. But distressed farmers talking to each other could only help for so long, she said. "That is probably the darker side of the drought," Ms Jorgensen told AAP while looking out the window at her drying paddocks in the Wimmera region, in the state's west. The Jorgensens, who grow grain and raise sheep and Clydesdale horses, are able to keep their stock watered by the Wimmera Mallee pipeline that was built after successive droughts in the early 2000s. But others further south are having to cart water and source increasingly expensive stock feed. Ms Jorgensen remains pragmatic, having grown up working in her father's market garden watching bad seasons come and go. "You just know it's going to rain eventually," she said. "It may not be tomorrow, it may not be next month, but it will rain." Lifeline 13 11 14 beyondblue 1300 22 4636
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Idaho Legislature's budget committee sets budget for new state office of public defender
The door to the JFAC committee room at the Idaho State Capitol building is pictured on Jan. 6, 2023. (Otto Kitsinger for Idaho Capital Sun) The Idaho Legislature's Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee set the budget for the new Idaho Public Defender's Office on Monday. But after current and former public defenders expressed concern last fall over the transition to the new statewide public defense system, the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee, or JFAC, cut about $5 million in funding from Gov. Brad Little's budget request on Monday. JFAC, is a powerful legislative committee that sets every budget for every state agency and department. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Little sought almost $88.6 million in total funding for the public defender's office's fiscal year 2026 budget enhancements, and JFAC voted to provide $83.2 million. The office itself requested even less, asking for $69.8 million. One of the differences is that JFAC did not approve a cash transfer that Little requested. JFAC did vote to approve almost $1.3 million in new funding for additional transcription costs after the Idaho Supreme Court ruled in December that the Idaho Public Defender's Office is required to cover the cost of appeal transcripts for indigent defendants, the Idaho Capital Sun previously reported. In October, Idaho transitioned from paying counties for public defense to a new state-run public defense system, the Idaho Capital Sun previously reported. The move followed a 2015 lawsuit ACLU of Idaho filed that alleged Idaho's public defense system violated low income people's Sixth Amendment right to counsel. The state public defender is appointed by the governor, and the Idaho Public Defender's Office is responsible for providing qualified attorneys to provide public defense to indigent Idahoans. In October 2023, Little appointed Eric Fredericksen as state public defender. In October 2024, several current and former public defenders told the Sun the transition of combining 44 county systems to one statewide system was rocky and troublesome. The Sun reported there was a series of resignations among the public defenders, and the Sun reported that, for a time between September and October, public defenders could not be contacted by their clients in jail as the phone system between the old and new systems was switched. One of the differences between the budget JFAC passed and Little's recommendation had to do with personnel costs. Little recommended providing funding to increase the rate for contracted attorneys from $100 per hour to $150 per hour. JFAC approved an increase to $125 per hour. On Monday, Rep. Dustin Manwaring, R-Pocatello, said the public defense system lost a lot of contract attorneys when the state took over the system. Manwaring said some rural counties have always been short on attorneys. But Manwaring also said more experienced attorneys weren't willing to do the work for the rate of $100 per hour. 'There's been a lot of discussion on this contract rate and how we get contract attorneys back to work and back taking these cases,' Manwaring said. 'We have a lot of cases where we need to get attorneys assigned and working.' Manwaring said the state should study whether it would save more money by having some of the work performed as contract services or by having them be state employees. In addition to the budget requests, the Idaho Legislature is also considering a new policy bill introduced Thursday, Senate Bill 1181, which supporters said seeks to address the transition from the county to the statewide public defense system. Rep. Steven Miller, R- Fairfield, said he has heard many concerns about the transition to the new statewide system. 'There were a number of hearings where there was a lack of a defender,' Miller said Monday. 'There wasn't a smooth transition from the counties to the public defender's office. There was a real lack of communication with the institutional counties in regards to the attorneys, the staff, what they were going to get paid and, to a good extent, where they were going to be placed.' But Miller voted against a supplemental budget request and the fiscal year 2026 budget enhancements for the Idaho Public Defender's Office on Monday. Miller said he was frustrated the state is being asked to approve additional spending 'to try to get the same job done.' 'My difficulty with it is it's not just money that we're dealing with here and I'm not sure, in my mind, that just throwing more money at it is going to fix it,' Miller said. The budgets for the Idaho Public Defender's Office still must pass the Idaho House of Representatives and Idaho Senate and not be vetoed by Little. So far, multiple unfinished fiscal year 2026 state budgets have prevented the Idaho Legislature from adjourning the annual legislative session for the year. On Monday, JFAC co-chairs said they were closing in on finishing setting the 2026 budget. JFAC is scheduled to reconvene at 8 a.m. Tuesday to resume setting budgets. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Student test score descriptions get a makeover: Advanced, Proficient, Developing, Minimal
The State Board of Education on Wednesday approved new labels to inform families and teachers about how students are performing on state standardized tests, aiming to provide clear descriptions that will not be demoralizing for lower-performing students. Student scores will be ranked in one of four categories on California's annual tests in math, reading and science. The new categories will be: Advanced, Proficient, Developing and Minimal. The old categories being replaced are: Standard Exceeded; Standard Met; Standard Nearly Met, or Standard Not Met. In the 7-h6664 vote, the board majority rejected labels recommended by staff from the California Dept. of Education, which had conducted two rounds of focus groups. Rob Manwaring, who was part of a coalition of nine groups that had raised concerns about earlier labels, was cautiously optimistic. He said he understood the value of providing information in a positive, encouraging way, which is called an "assets-based approach," but that parents also need a sober understanding of where their child stands academically to convey an appropriate "sense of urgency." "I think the labeling of the lowest level as Minimal and the second level as Developing seems to suggest that level of need," said Manwaring, senior policy and fiscal advisor for the Oakland-based advocacy group Children Now. The coalition had expressed strong concern over labels for the lowest two groups that had been proposed in November: Foundational and Inconsistent. The coalition — which included EdTrust-West, California Charter Schools Assn., Alliance for a Better Community, Teach Plus and Children Now — had said the terms Foundational and Inconsistent would "would make the data more confusing and misleading." The state board delayed action in November, in large part because students, parents and rank-and-file educators were not given an opportunity to provide input. Focus groups in December and January reinforced the objections to Foundational and Inconsistent, according to a staff report. Read more: Low math and English scores mark the nation's report card, California and L.A. included Instead, state education department staff changed direction and recommended Basic and Below Basic for the lower two levels. These labels had the broadest support within focus groups of students, parents, teachers, testing coordinators and advocates. The full set of recommended labels — Advanced, Proficient, Basic and Below Basic — also aligned with the labels used on a well-known nationwide test, the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP, which is often called the nation's report card. The proposed labels also are in common use on tests in other states. But members of the appointed state board did not fall in line. "Labels matter," said Francisco Escobedo. "We see our kids as continual learners.' Below Basic suggests failure, he said. 'Emerging is a more fitting word." He noted that Emerging is used for lowest level on a state test of assessing how well non-English-speaking students are learning English. But a staff member pushed back — saying that a term to capture a student who is just starting to learn English is different from a description of a student's academic skills. Other board members were not won over by Escobedo's suggested term. But they shared his concern over negativity. "I also had a visceral reaction to the word Basic," said Haydee Rodriguez, who added that students use the word basic as a slang insult, a revelation that caused board President Linda Darling-Hammond to take pause. Read more: Compton Unified stands out as a national leader in raising student test scores Board member Cynthia Glover Woods first suggested Minimal for the lowest category. Another suggestion brought forward for the lowest scorers was Beginning. Board members also slightly reworded the extended description of what became the Developing label — saying it did not convey that a student at that level was likely to need extra academic support. Among those who voted no on the new labels, board member Alison Yoshimoto-Towery felt the discussion was being unnecessarily curtailed. Escobedo said the new labels remained too harsh. Gabriela Orozco Gonzalez said the views of students and parents in the focus groups should be respected — they apparently had no issue with the word Basic. Disappointing scores, regardless of label Even if the board had opted for the NAEP-style labels, they would not have been interchangeable across the tests. In general, the NAEP labels represent a more rigorous grading standard, with a higher threshold for achieving a rating of Proficient or Advanced. These higher levels are harder to achieve on NAEP than on California tests concluded research that compared state tests with the national NAEP exams. NAEP results remain low nationwide and in California and have generally failed to recover from the pre-pandemic levels of 2019. Math and English test scores of fourth- and eighth-graders largely held steady or declined nationwide over the last two years — results that were about the same in Los Angeles and California. Not only are few students scoring as Advanced or Proficient, but fewer are achieving NAEP's version of a Basic ranking, the next level down. On the most recent results from this test, for example, the percentage of L.A. students who scored as Proficient or better in fourth-grade math was 27%. For California it was 35%. Read more: Low math and English scores mark the nation's report card, California and L.A. included In fourth-grade reading, 25% of L.A. students tested as proficient or better. California's rate was 29%. On California's tests, student proficiency rates are higher, but still widely trailing pre-pandemic achievement levels that themselves were considered unacceptable at the time. Overall, the state tests offer a more precise check than NAEP on what students in California are supposed to be learning. The NAEP test, in contrast, tests a small sample of students to allow for state-to-state comparisons. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
