UI lease for on-campus coffee stand gains approval from board

LEWISTON — The Idaho State Board of Education approved a site lease agreement Wednesday to establish a Red Star Coffee Company coffee stand on the University of Idaho campus.

The item was on the consent agenda portion of the education board’s meeting at Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston.

The site lease agreement allows Red Star to build a drive-through in a UI parking lot located at the corner of Third and Line streets. The UI believes it will create a new income stream for the university and put the existing parking lot to better use. If the development is approved by the city of Moscow, Red Star will work with UI staff on final construction and size development plans.

The rent schedule for the 10-year lease amounts to a $42,000 per-year payment for the first five years, and a $48,300 per-year payment for the next five years. The UI will cover costs for sanitary and stormwater connections.

Red Star Coffee Company also operates a coffee stand on Pullman Road in Moscow.

Also on Wednesday, the State Board of Education approved a new policy on the “planning and delivery of academic and career-technical programs,” according to a news release.

The revised policy is intended to improve “systemness” at Idaho’s public higher education institutions.

“The new policy attempts to thread the needle between healthy competition and effective collaboration among the institutions as they work to meet the needs of students throughout the state,” according to the news release.

LCSC President Cynthia Pemberton told the board during remarks Wednesday that her school’s enrollment for the fall semester is the highest since 2016. Official enrollment numbers are expected to be released today.

Almost a dozen LCSC students testified Wednesday. About half of them are the first in their families to attend college, according to the news release.

Education board members and college presidents agreed that Idaho’s metrics for measuring the state’s public education system is outdated and need revisions, according to the news release.

A new metric needs “to be clearer and more useful in determining accountability, explaining purpose, and overall successful output of Idaho’s education system,” according to the news release.

The board directed staff members to work with the college to develop recommendations to be reviewed during the board’s December meeting.

The board’s will conclude their meetings at Lewiston today, beginning at 9 a.m.