Public school trustees condemn state funding for private education

Idaho school trustees Friday overwhelmingly supported a statement condemning efforts to direct public funds to private education.

More than 550 trustees this week gathered in Boise for the Idaho School Boards Association’s annual convention. Trustees attended workshops and voted on resolutions that set the ISBA’s policy agenda for the upcoming legislative session.

This isn’t the first time that trustees have opposed school vouchers, education savings accounts or other mechanisms for subsidizing private school. But the latest resolution means Idaho lawmakers, who are expected to consider another private school choice program when the Legislature reconvenes in January, will again face resistance from the ISBA.

The resolution, sponsored by trustees from the Boise School District and six other districts across the state, “strongly” opposes “any effort” to divert public funds to private education. It also opposes amending Idaho’s constitutional prohibition on religious schools benefiting from public resources. ISBA members passed it in a 7,281-674 vote.

Private school choice represents an “existential threat to public education,” Madison School District trustee Brian Pyper said during debate on the resolution.

ISBA members passed all but two of the 15 resolutions they considered. One rejected proposal would have supported reforming a law that blocks school districts from collecting local option taxes. The other failed resolution proposed eliminating barriers for districts to hire the spouses of school board members.

Trustees voted on the resolutions with their school district. Each district received between 30 and 642 votes, depending on their size. Charter schools shared 585 votes.

Here’s the action that ISBA members took on each resolution:

Passed: Local control for school safety

Yes: 7,391

No: 284

Sponsored by the Marsing School District and seven others across the state, this resolution calls for local control of school safety measures, including decisions related to armed teachers and staff.

Passed: School safety funding

Yes: 7,637

No: 398

Sponsored by the Caldwell, Jefferson and West Bonner County school districts as well as North Star Charter School, this resolution asks state education leaders to allocate adequate funding to enhance school safety and security. It also urges collaboration between federal, state and local governments to ensure all schools have safety resources.

Passed: Prioritizing and supporting early learning initiatives

Yes: 4,891

No: 3,020

Sponsored by the Caldwell and Basin school districts, this resolution invites and urges state and local education leaders to prioritize and support efforts to improve early learning.

Passed: Restoration of lottery funds

Yes: 7,772

No: 59

Sponsored by the Twin Falls School District and six others this resolution calls on lawmakers to restore the allocations of state lottery funds prior to House Bill 521. The legislation restricted uses of the funds to bond and levy payments, and districts are now struggling to pay routine maintenance costs.

Passed: Supplemental levy term

Yes: 7,029

No: 717

Sponsored by the Coeur d’Alene, Madison and Boundary County school districts, this resolution calls for extending maximum terms of supplemental levies. The resolution suggests up to six-year terms, up from the current two-year maximum.

Failed: Spousal employment for small districts

Yes: 2,376

No: 5,660

Sponsored by the Midvale, Melba and Notus school districts, this resolution proposed a process through which small school districts could employ the spouse of a trustee.

The initial resolution limited this ability to districts with fewer than 400 students. But ISBA members rejected the resolution after it was amended to remove the enrollment cap.

Passed: Opposition for public funds diverted to private schools

Yes: 7,281

No: 674

Sponsored by the Boise School District and six others across the state, this resolution “strongly” opposes “any effort” to divert public funds to private education or to amend the Blaine Amendment, the provision in the Idaho Constitution that prohibits religious organizations from receiving taxpayer resources.

Passed: Latitude for CTE personnel funding

Yes: 6,698

No: 670

Sponsored by the Pocatello School District and six other districts across the state, this resolution calls for lawmakers to allocate additional funds for career-technical education (CTE) teacher salaries. And it asks state researchers to “study all available options for additional funding resources and/or flexibility” for schools to use CTE funds.

Passed: Revolving loan grant fund

Yes: 7,480

No: 399

Sponsored by the West Bonner County, North Gem, Caldwell and Basin school districts, this resolution calls on lawmakers to revive a dormant loan and grant fund for school facilities. The fund was created in 2000, but does not receive any appropriations.

Failed: Local option sales tax to fund schools

Yes: 2,396

No: 5,323

Sponsored by the West Bonner County School District, this resolution would have supported a bill that authorizes school districts to implement local option taxes. Most Idaho local governments are currently barred from levying local taxes, such as a sales tax on alcohol that targets tourists.

The association’s executive board declined to take a stance on the resolution, and ISBA members rejected it.

Passed: Amending school age for flexibility

Yes: 6,206

No: 1,433

Sponsored by the Teton School District, this resolution supports changing the definition of “school age” in Idaho law, where it prevents schools from spending state dollars on preschool.

Passed: Funding for special education

Yes: 7,535

No: 0

Sponsored by the Cassia School District and three others, this resolution supports weighting state funds in favor of higher-cost students, such as those with special needs. State superintendent Debbie Critchfield proposed those weights in her budget this year.

Passed: Math and science funding

Yes: 7,050

No: 186

Sponsored by the Ririe School District and three others, this resolution supports legislation that would amend the state’s staff funding formula to give small schools additional funding to hire math and science teachers.

Passed: Swapping CIP for strategic plan

Yes: 7,210

No: 132

Sponsored by the Butte County and St. Maries school districts, this resolution proposes eliminating Continuous Improvement Plans, required by the Idaho State Board of Education, and folding the CIPs accountability measures into existing strategic plans.

Passed: Amending support unit protection

Yes: 6,750

No: 0

Sponsored by the Lewiston Independent School District and five others, this resolution asks the Legislature to set up a safeguard in case school districts’ insurance savings pool gets overdrawn again, as was the case recently.

Trustees unanimously supported the resolution.