The Special Session

The governor wants to give another half a billion dollars to public ed

The special session is happening. On Thursday, September 1, the 66th Idaho State Legislature will convene an extraordinary session to deliberate upon a single bill proposed by Governor Brad Little.

I recently shared my first impressions of the governor’s bill, which both cuts taxes and appropriates more money for the public school system. After having a chance to read the text of the proposed bill itself, my opinion has not changed. The governor’s press machine is hyping up the tax cuts, but the real meat of the bill is more money for public schools.

Remember that the governor and legislature increased public education funding by $347 million in the last regular session, just a few short months ago. At the time they crowed about how wonderful it was that they were investing so much in education and literacy - the largest one-time increase in state history. The new school year had not yet begun when the governor announced his latest plan to invest another $410 million into K-12, with even more for Idaho state colleges and universities as well.

The reason for this timing is obvious. The insidious Proposition 1, the “Quality Education Act” sponsored by left-wing Reclaim Idaho, is on the November ballot, and threatens to increase taxes to fund more than $300 million for public schools, while also possibly reversing last year’s tax cuts on all Idahoans. The governor clearly fears the effect of this initiative at the polls, which is why he pulled the neat trick of making its effective date January 3, 2023, two days after Prop 1. That way, even if Reclaim’s tax hike passes, the governor’s bill will supersede it, removing the tax law changes it would bring about.

I understand the political gamesmanship at work here. However, sometimes the cure is worse than the disease. I believe the governor’s bill has some serious flaws, and I hope our legislature will use their authority as our elected lawmakers to at least fix it rather than rubber-stamping King Brad.

Governor Little, presumably demonstrating how much money he wants to spend.

The first problem is in the genesis of the bill. Idaho’s constitution says that bills originate in the legislature, not the governor’s office. Further, spending bills specifically come from the House of Representatives. I am sure that the legislature will follow proper procedures and introduce the bill in the House first, but the method by which this was drafted goes against the spirit of the constitution.

The second problem is in the structure of the bill. Idaho’s constitution requires that all bills be limited to a single subject. We feel frustrated watching our federal congress cast up or down votes on five thousand page omnibus bills that nobody has had time to read. Idaho’s constitution fixes this problem by requiring all bills be devoted to a single subject. If you want to tackle two issues, you introduce two separate bills.

The governor seems to be ignoring this provision. His proposed bill enacts tax reform, tax rebates, and appropriates money for public education. One could argue that the income tax bracket changes and tax rebates are related, but there is no way to justify putting public school appropriations in the same bill. The only reason I can think of is to force an up or down vote on the whole package lest fiscally conservative legislators balk at the appropriations - exactly what our constitution is meant to prevent. Perhaps some brave representative will move to divide the question next week, allowing the legislature to consider each proposal on its own merits.

The next problem is with the escalator clause. The bill does not just allocate $410 million for K-12 public education one time, nor does it even allocate that amount year upon year. No, it includes a 3% escalation clause, meaning the amount we give to the public school system - on top of the billions the legislature already spends - will increase every year with no end. With inflation already ravaging our communities and recession within sight, it seems foolish to promise a perpetual increase like that.

Another glaring problem is the question of why we need to spend more money at all. Dumping more money into failing systems is the Democrat strategy, and Republicans are supposed to be smarter than this. Personally, I think the governor is chasing headlines - he wants to see glowing news reports in an election year about yet another historic investment in education. Perhaps he is right, and this is a winning political strategy, but I am not so sure. I watched the Republican Party of Washington State wither to impotence by trying to be Democrats-Lite, offering to disburse half the treasury to interest groups rather than the whole that the left was offering. Granted, the governor is offering more than Reclaim Idaho, but will it translate to more votes?

We see at the national level how the Democrats use power to hurt their enemies and reward their friends - the latest college loan forgiveness plan perfectly demonstrates this philosophy. However, if you ask a Republican leader about using government to reward their base voters - conservative families - they will balk, saying that is not the proper role of government. Why then do Republican leaders give away the public treasury to interest groups that are not even their base constituents? Instead of yet another investment in public education, why not an extra tax rebate to families with more than three children? Invest in Idaho families!

My biggest issue with this new spending is that the governor is not getting anything in return for it. Donald Trump taught us the art of the deal - never give anything away for free that you can get something valuable for in return. Instead of giving another half billion dollars to the public school system with no strings attached, why not use this opportunity to reform the system? We all know that CRT and Queer Theory are still rampant in our schools, let’s root them out. Strengthen the laws against teaching such insidious doctrines and create consequences for teachers and schools who skirt those laws. Demand higher standards - instead of giving more money to failing systems, force schools to return to teaching the basics of math, science, history, and English rather than esoteric social justice concepts. I’m sure there are all sort of concessions the governor and legislature could get from the school system, but no, they just want to unload another dump truck full of money. This appropriation is, in effect, subsidizing more anti-American nonsense in our public schools.

Finally, I worry about what this will do for school choice. Idaho had a chance to create a system where money follows the child rather than the school, but the Senate refused to even take a vote on the bill. (Edit: I was incorrect. House Bill 669, which would have created education savings accounts that could be used for private school tuition, was killed in the House committee and never made it to the Senate. I regret the error!)

In the meantime, Arizona has passed the most sweeping school choice legislation in the country. School choice is necessary, both to save students from failing schools but also to break the monopoly that the public school system has on education. I am not calling for the system to be burned down and the earth salted, as tempting as that sounds, because I recognize that public schools fulfill an important need for many Idaho families. In fact, our constitution requires it. But those families should not be condemned to languish in schools that explicitly contradict their values, that deliberately drive a wedge between students and parents, and fail to educate students to the most basic levels of proficiency. School choice will force public schools to improve lest they lose all their students.

However, if the governor succeeds in giving those same public schools $410 million in this special session, then it might take the wind out of the school choice sails. I can picture various representatives and senators shaking their heads, saying that we already handled education in September, so we need to prioritize other issues now. Current students should not have to wait for reform to come at such a leisurely pace - we need action now!

For all of these reasons I urge our legislators to, if not kill this extraordinary bill entirely, at least use their constitutional authority to fix it. Split the tax cuts from the education spending. Remove the escalator clause. Strengthen oversight of the schools and their curricula. Remind the governor that the legislature, not the executive, makes law in this state.

Contact your legislators. Ask them politely but firmly to take a careful look at the governor’s proposed bill. It’s not too late - we can still make a difference.