For Idaho Lt. Gov., seeing Donald Trump Jr. is more important than Idaho schools

Editor’s note: This editorial has been updated to include information from a statement from Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin emailed to the Statesman after the editorial had been posted.

On Aug. 19, Idaho Lt. Gov. Jancie McGeachin issued a statement seeking urgency in helping Idaho’s schools struggling during the coronavirus pandemic.

At the time, she was expressing her disappointment that helping schools wasn’t part of the special legislative session called by Gov. Brad Little.

“Idaho has more than 300,000 K-12 students whose education and futures hang in the balance,” she wrote in a statement. “Enhancing education opportunities for Idaho students must be our top priority as well, including funding competitive education options in both the public and private sectors. … I strongly encourage the Governor and Legislative Leadership not to delay acting on this matter.”

Fast-forward four weeks, just a few days after Little announced that the Trump administration only recently gave states authority to put additional CARES Act dollars into schools.

“We didn’t hesitate to seize the opportunity to provide more support for our schools,” Little said at a press conference last week.

Little announced that he would recommend plowing $99 million back into Idaho’s K-12 public education funding, roughly the same amount that was cut when the pandemic began.

All that was left was for the state’s Coronavirus Financial Advisory Committee to give its stamp of approval on Tuesday. That action was widely anticipated, practically a done deal.

Hold up, according to McGeachin, who sits on the committee, along with state officers, legislators, and other elected and nonelected officials.

McGeachin informed her fellow committee members that she would be unable to attend Tuesday’s meeting.

And she had a message for her fellow committee members.

“I am not able to participate in the meeting today, but I did want to express my concerns about the proposal before you today,” she wrote in an email at 12:47 p.m. “Spending $150 million is no small matter and we have not had an opportunity to review fully the details of the proposal nor have I seen any proof that it is even consistent with the federal guidelines for the use of CARES Act money. I would like to see the committee delay the vote until more research and investigation can be done.”

In McGeachin’s absence, the 13 members present Tuesday voted unanimously to approve the funding, according to Alex Adams, administrator of the state Division of Financial Management and chairman of the committee.

Fortunately, her fellow committee members, who actually take their job seriously, didn’t bother with McGeachin’s “concerns” and voted to do the right thing.

“If we have an opportunity to do the right thing, follow federal guidelines in spending this money, and to meet those guidelines, and help Idahoans, why wouldn’t we do this?” state Rep. Rick Youngblood, R-Nampa, who is on the advisory committee, said Wednesday morning. “It just makes sense.”

Since McGeachin was so adamant last month “not to delay acting on this matter,” she must have had a good reason to skip out on Tuesday’s meeting.

At 10:38 a.m. Tuesday, two hours before she emailed the committee expressing her concerns, McGeachin tweeted a photo of herself in a convertible under the words, “So how do you finish a whirlwind trip to see your president? Jump in your car head to Stanley and meet Donald Trump Jr.”

So now we know what was so important that she had to miss an important vote to get much-needed funding to Idaho’s schools. Apparently, it was so she could go to Stanley to see Donald Trump Jr. at a fundraising event.

McGeachin’s office did not respond to a voicemail left by the Statesman on Tuesday, but she issued a statement Wednesday afternoon.

In her statement, she said the photo, which was posted to Twitter Tuesday morning, was actually taken Monday and that she was not traveling at the time of the committee meeting.

“The fact that I was unable to participate in the CFAC meeting on Tuesday had nothing to do with the political rally I attended later that day,” McGeachin wrote.

When asked why McGeachin missed the meeting, her office responded by email that it was due to personal reasons and there would be no further comment.

McGeachin also sought to clarify that she felt the governor had already made up his mind about the funding and that the committee meeting was for “perfunctory approval.”

Her statement also said she has sought clarity on the legality of spending this money but has not received adequate explanation.

But Youngblood said Wednesday morning that Adams had assured committee members that the U.S. Treasury Department has made it clear that Idaho’s plan met federal guidelines.

“The Department of the Treasury’s Coronavirus Relief Fund guidance was updated September 2 with a provision that allows funding to be used for expenses associated with the safe reopening of schools,” according to a memo included in the committee’s documents for Tuesday’s meeting. “It states that ‘expenses of up to $500 per elementary and secondary school student to be eligible expenditures, such that schools do not need to document the specific use of funds up to that amount.’”

As far as discussing the funding proposal before Tuesday’s meeting, McGeachin missed a key meeting of the Coronavirus Financial Advisory Committee on June 26.

On the agenda that day? Increased funding for public education to acquire new technology for education to allow K-12 students to better access online classes and material.

Committee member and State Board of Education member Shawn Keough made the proposal to the committee and answered questions from committee members, according to minutes of the meeting.

Keough said the additional funding would fill a gap created with the COVID-19 pandemic and help keep students on pace with their studies, especially those in rural areas, according to the minutes.

In responding to questions, Keough indicated that no changes were needed pursuant to public comment, and that no objections or concerns were raised by the germane legislative committee chairs. Committee member Tom Kealey moved to adopt the proposal as presented, and the motion passed unanimously. For that June 26 meeting, McGeachin was one of three committee members, out of 16, who were absent.

Talk about putting politics before your responsibilities.

Apparently, it was more important for Idaho’s lieutenant governor to raise money for the president and to catch a glimpse of the president’s son than it was to support Idaho’s schoolchildren, who are trying to continue their education in this most challenging time.

This story was originally published September 16, 2020 at 9:01 AM.