Idaho officials made many promises about education funding. Time to live up to them | Opinion
As an Idaho public school superintendent with 30 years of service to Idaho students and families, I was pleased in 2022 when Gov. Brad Little called a special session of the Idaho Legislature in order to boost funding for public schools by $330 million a year.
Sadly, that wasn’t the end of the story. Like educators across the state, I was deeply disappointed when Idaho’s elected officials failed to keep their promise and deliver the full $330 million to Idaho school districts.
Recently, I joined with fellow educators and supporters of Idaho public schools to circulate an open letter. The letter calls on Idaho’s elected officials — including the governor, legislators, and the superintendent of public instruction — to keep the promise they’ve made to invest at least $330 million in Idaho public schools.
Our open letter struck a nerve. With just 48 hours, over 1,000 Idaho educators added their names. This included current and former teachers, administrators, paraprofessionals, and trustees in 31 different Idaho counties.
Let’s hope that our governor, legislator, and state superintendent will listen.
Here’s the full letter:
We, the undersigned, issue this open letter to Governor Brad Little, Superintendent Debbie Critchfield, and members of the Idaho Legislature.
As elected officials work to revise the K-12 funding formula and propose budgets for the next legislative session, we call on the governor, legislature, and state superintendent to fulfill their duty by delivering the full $330 million increase that was promised.
We are disappointed that $115 million of the promised funding increase was held back this year. This funding shortfall has resulted in budget cuts that will harm students. Some districts and charters have been forced to increase class sizes. Others have laid off staff or held back salary increases that were promised.
During the 2022 special session of the Idaho Legislature, legislators and the governor promised a $330 million increase in education funding. As documented in detail by the Twin Falls Times-News and several other media outlets, the full $330 million has yet to be delivered.
We call on elected officials to keep their promise to Idaho students by delivering all of the promised funding and by continuing to increase funding at a rate that makes Idaho competitive with neighboring states.