Education reforms send Idaho down the wrong path

By Senators Shawn Keough and Joyce Broadsword

In some ways this was an inspiring year to be at the state legislature. As members of the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee (JFAC), we held public hearings on the state budget for the first time and were greeted by feedback from thousands of citizens from across Idaho and the political spectrum – including many from our northern Idaho districts.

This enthusiasm to participate in the public process continued throughout the session and in many cases greatly improved legislation. This was particularly true of the reductions made to Medicaid that were significantly changed based on a joint public hearing held by the Senate and House Health and Welfare committees. This is how the process is meant to work: citizens speak, improvements are made.

Unfortunately, on what was the defining issue of this legislative session, the overwhelming voices of everyday Idahoans was not heeded.

Superintendent of Education Tom Luna’s “Students Come First” proposal represents a loss of local control for school districts, parents and taxpayers. It is based on the false premise that by reducing the number of teachers in our schools we can somehow improve our students’ performance.  It adds new bureaucratic paperwork and three new expensive entitlement programs. While there is little evidence that these new entitlements will increase student achievement, it is clear that they will decrease the amount of money taxpayers have in their pockets, especially as these mandates force school districts to ask local property taxpayers to fund what hasn’t been funded by the state.

Worst of all, the bills were written in a rush, and corrections have already been required by the legislature in what remains of this session to sections that would have had even more devastating effects on Idaho’s schools. We expect continued fixes to be necessary in the coming years if this act isn’t repealed by the people of Idaho by referendum.

In JFAC, we worked to minimize the cuts to K-12 education. Legislators found $15 million additional dollars for education without raising taxes. We also created a trigger mechanism that could funnel millions more in discretionary funds to public schools statewide if revenues are higher than forecasted at the beginning of this year’s legislative session in January. For example, if the Governor’s current projections hold this would mean at least an additional $6.5 million. If, on the other hand, the state economist’s more optimistic forecasts prove correct over $20 million more would be available in discretionary funding.

We are hopeful that Idaho’s economy will make continued improvements this year, reemploying workers and funding our schools. Several signs point to Idaho being well-positioned for a recovery. Citing Idaho as an economic leader in recovering from the current recession, Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services recently raised Idaho’s credit rating from an already strong ‘AA’ to ‘AA+.’  They reported that our state’s “reputation for a low cost of doing business” positions it to create jobs as “the economic recovery gains momentum.”

Thank you to everyone who contacted us during this session and took the time to engage with the political process. Your continued efforts to have your voice be heard are fundamental to the future success of our state and the preservation of a government that is “Of the People, By the People, and For the People.”

Please don’t hesitate to contact either of us if we can be of assistance in the future.

Senator Keough can be contacted at skeough@senate.idaho.gov and Senator Broadsword can be contacted at jbroadsword@senate.idaho.gov. Both email addresses are active throughout the year.