COEUR d'ALENE - School officials in Coeur d'Alene are working to compile data that will provide a cost analysis and in-depth student performance review of the International Baccalaureate Diploma and Advanced Placement programs.

Much of the information was specifically requested by school board Trustee Tom Hamilton.

But it's slow going.

Associate School Superintendent Matt Handelman said the district isn't trying to hide anything, but gathering much of the information requires time-consuming "data digging" and "data mining."

"And some of the requested information is unavailable," Handelman said.

Handelman pointed, as an example, to a request for college credits awarded to former students who took the advanced learning classes.

That information is protected under the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act, or FERPA, a federal law that protects the privacy of student records. Without written consent, colleges and universities are prohibited from releasing that information to anyone other than the student, provided the student is 18 or older.

For students who are under the age of 18, FERPA gives parents the right to inspect and review their children's education records, and prohibits schools from releasing that information to members of the public without parental written consent. FERPA does allow schools to disclose student records without consent under certain conditions, including to "school officials with legitimate educational interest."

Regarding the labor intensive nature of extracting some of the information requested, Handelman offered a spread sheet created to show class sizes as an example. It took one individual 12 hours to compile. That sheet included information for this school year only, Handelman said, and they have been asked to do the same for several previous years.

"We're not trying to complain, and we always want to be responsive to a board member's request," Handelman said.

But school officials have other priorities, he said, like dealing with Monday's bomb threat at Lake City High School.

The answers to some questions need to be presented in broader context with other information, Handelman said.

For example, more than 100 classes have less than 20 students in them, Handelman said, and 14 of those were IB classes. There are 86 other non-IB classes with less than 20 students, mainly professional-technical, special education and remedial classes. Those classes must be presented as well, he said.

Many of the questions are easier to answer, Handelman said, and some of that information has already been provided to Hamilton and the public on the district's website and as handouts at meetings attended by the public.

Hamilton told The Press he met with Superintendent Hazel Bauman in August, to discuss both programs after hearing concerns about the performance of the IB program from staff members of various district schools.

"This has been discussed enough out of emotion and ideology," Hamilton said. "The goal for me is to find how we can best invest in our advanced learners."

The district just passed a $12 million levy, Hamilton said, and school board members are obligated to review all programs and make sure the money being spent on them is having the intended impact.

Programs other than IB and AP will be given the same kind of scrutiny, he said.

There have to be options for higher level students, Hamilton said, but he questions whether the district needs or can afford three advanced learning programs. In addition to IB and AP courses, the Dual Enrollment program offers advanced high school students the opportunity to take college courses and achieve college credit while in high school.

"I'm a big fan of having choices in education, provided the basics are being taught and provided you can afford to offer those choices, and you'd better make sure they are truly meeting the needs of the students," Hamilton said.

Earlier this month, board members and district administrators met and discussed the academic performance of students taking IB and AP courses. Academic scores are lackluster in both programs.

The district has provided budget details for the IB program. They are posted online on the district's website, www.cdaschools.org.

The district spent $75,238 on IB in 2009, the last year it was offered at Lake City and Coeur d'Alene high schools.

In 2010-11, the first year the program was offered at Lake City exclusively, the district spent $38,738 on IB, and has budgeted $40,707 for IB at Lake City for this school year.

The cost analysis will not be on the agenda for Monday's regular school board meeting, because the information is incomplete. However, it will likely be discussed at some point during the 5 p.m. meeting at Midtown Center, 1505 N. Fifth St.