City of Idaho Falls creates panel to consider community college

The City of Idaho Falls announced it’s community college panel members Tuesday.

They will be in charge of gathering data surrounding the proposed project of building a new community college.

Mayor Rebecca Casper opened the meeting by introducing the panel members.

The Idaho National Laboratory, along with the Rural Economic Development Initiative , presented grants, which will be used to finance gathering data for the panel.

Casper said, the money will help the panel with their studies and give them more resources.

Community College Study Panel member Kenneth Taylor said it’s really time now to look at the possibilities.

“The panel is to educate and to investigate and determine the need for community college and what the cost might be and how it will be structured,” Taylor said.

Talks for a community college has been discussed for decades, said former legislator Ann Rydalch.

“Goes back many years when many of us were involved to get it on the ballot during the 90s. It did not pass,” Rydalch said.

Rydalch said this is about education.

The panel will submit a preliminary report on their findings in May.