George Prentice reports officials in north-central Idaho, facing a nearly $500,000 deficit at a Lewiston juvenile detention center, are mulling the possibility of sending their juvenile offenders across the border to be housed in a Spokane-area facility.

This morning’s Lewiston Tribune reports that Nez Perce County commissioners have been presented an offer from operators in Washington’s Martin Hall that would cost $301,000 vs. the current $1 million budget for the Region Two Juvenile Detention Center in Lewiston. The Lewiston location houses juvenile offenders from Clearwater, Idaho, Latah, Lewis and Nez Perce counties.

But county officials are also concerned about keeping the juveniles closer to home. Commissioners are also considering a proposed rate hike to the surrounding counties to keep the Lewiston facility open.