COEUR d'ALENE - The International Baccalaureate Organization's high school program is officially headed for extinction in the Coeur d'Alene School District.

Trustees voted unanimously Monday to discontinue offering the advanced learning classes at Lake City High School, to phase the program out completely by the 2014-15 school year.

The IB program has been offered to high school juniors and seniors in Coeur d'Alene since 2006. Since 2009, IB classes have been offered at Lake City High School and Advanced Placement courses, another higher learning program, have been offered at Coeur d'Alene High School. The availability of both programs was touted as part of the district's "Schools of Choice" strategy.

"I'm not a believer in choice at any cost. I fully support choice when it can be proven effective, and when the cost is reasonable when compared to the value gained," said board chair Tom Hamilton, before making the motion to discontinue the program. "After the number of years that we've had the IB program, I cannot say that IB is successful by these measurable standards."

Hamilton referred to enrollment, overall test scores, ability to earn college credits and the cost of the program to the district and students, and said the AP program stands up better than IB under that criteria.

At a July workshop, trustees compared the two programs and found that more students are taking AP courses than IB, with more college credit eligibility.

In 2010, the IB program came under scrutiny when a group of citizens began protesting its presence in the schools, claiming it promotes a U.N. agenda that endorses global citizenship and liberal political ideals.

Monday's decision to discontinue IB in Coeur d'Alene was made despite pleas from Lake City High School teachers to retain the program.

"This program is an exceptional educational system. It is the best that I've encountered," said Derek Kohles, a 20-year educator who has taught AP classes and now teaches IB courses at Lake City.

Kohles addressed school board chair Tom Hamilton and Trustee Terri Seymour, and said that when they ran for election in 2011, they campaigned on a "Get the U.N. out of our schools" platform. He said he listened to comments made by Trustee Jim Purtee when he was selected for appointment to the board in April.

During the meeting, each of the trustees - Hamilton, Seymour, Purtee and Ann Seddon - said they were making their decision based solely on facts and data.

"I am concerned that we are moving backward if we take away this program. I know we are down to the point of looking at dollars and cents, and I think we are missing the big picture when we stop looking at kids," Kohles said.

Kohles said he didn't want to compare IB to AP, that different programs suit different students.

Lake City High School music teacher, Tim Sanford, also spoke out in support of the program, and said he's seen positive results among students taking the classes.

Sanford said the IB teaching method asks students to solve problems "rather than fill in bubbles on a sheet."

He challenged the trustees to take the educator training themselves before deciding to eliminate IB.

"Asking a student to think and analyze and challenge the world around them is not dangerous, nor is it brainwashing. It makes a self-assured person, who not only knows what they believe in, but why they believe it," Sanford said.

Anti-IB activist Duncan Koler also addressed the board. Since 2010, Koler, of Hayden, has protested the presence of IB classes in the schools.

He commended the board for taking a hard look at IB, and said it was a process that should have taken place when the program was initiated in the district.

"Mr. Kohles doesn't want a comparison. He doesn't want it to be based on facts. He wants it to be based on feeling, and that's really part of the problem with this program," Koler said. "I am confident that the facts speak very loudly and clearly, that this is not a good program for our students. It's not a good program for our district. It's a waste of money."

Since the program's inception in the district in 2004, $1.35 million has been invested in IB. Last year, the district spent $50,630 to provide the courses. The AP program cost the district $11,449 last year.

Koler said that in addition to the high cost, the IB program is divisive in the community, and the curriculum inserts, into every subject, "concepts that are politically charged, such as social justice, sustainability ... these are code terms that mean more than just what the words would normally mean, and we have great disagreement in the audience as to what those things mean, great disagreement."

Students already enrolled in IB courses, this fall's incoming juniors and seniors, will be able to complete the two-year program courses at Lake City before it is completely phased out in 2014-15.

Hayden Meadows Elementary School is also an "IB school" offering the organization's Primary Years Programme. Trustee Terri Seymour suggested Monday that the district begin looking at PYP, following a process similar to the one trustees followed before eliminating IB at the high school level.