On July 21, the Idaho Governor’s office announced in a press release that the state had a record breaking budget surplus of almost $900 million for the fiscal year of 2020. For the first time in Idaho’s history, state revenue collections exceeded $5 billion, according to the release.
Idaho Gov. Brad Little claimed he and the Idaho legislature made “strategic investments” in Idaho’s transportation, education and other areas included in his “Building Idaho’s Future” plan, and will continue to do so moving forward with this new budget surplus.
Alex Adams, administrator in the Department of Financial Management, said the larger-than-normal surplus is due to the amount of federal funding that flooded the local economy.
“So, if you or any of your fellow students got the stimulus checks, for example, the $1,400 stimulus checks that were mailed out earlier this year, my guess is many students went out and bought things with those,” Adams said. “Some might have bought books and others might have bought bicycles, and some might have used it for groceries or other things.”
Over the past couple years Little grew K-12 education spending 29% in 2019 and 12% in 2020, Adams said. That may sound fantastic, but when you look at how much Idaho was spending per pupil in 2018 compared to other states, we ranked No. 51 in the nation.
According to Idaho Education News, Idaho spent $6,747 per pupil during the 2018-19 school year. This was only an $8 increase per pupil from the year before. The National Education Association’s 2021 “Ranking of the States” report stated the national average for spending per student was $13,597 in 2020, while it was $12,693 in 2018.
With spending this low, Idaho’s education is suffering even with the increased spending Little has done in the past couple years, and the state’s ranking as lowest hasn’t budged one bit.
These budget issues paired with the recent attacks on education from high-ranking politicians and powerful political groups seriously puts Idaho’s education at risk.
Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin and the education indoctrination task force she assembled in April are striking fear and spreading misinformation among Idaho’s parents, teachers and students. The task force is co-chaired by Rep. Priscilla Giddings, who is currently facing an ethics hearing after posting the name and face of an alleged rape victim on her social media.
McGeachin and Giddings are running for governor and lieutenant governor, respectively, in the 2022 elections.
The task force’s meetings have focused on examining Critical Race Theory, Socialism, Communism and Marxism in Idaho’s public schools.
Those words are enough to put a little fear into almost every American because of the terrible connotations they have in our country, but apparently the public schools in Idaho are throwing them around and brainwashing children with them.
Boise schools and their equity-focused programs became the target of Giddings’ $100,000 records request, the only one she made in her search for indoctrination throughout Idaho according to Idaho Education News, in preparation for the June 24 meeting that focused on indoctrination in K-12 schools.
On July 29 the task force turned their blades toward higher education and, in the footsteps of the State Board of Education and Idaho School Boards Association, universities in Idaho refused to send a representative. Whether showing the task force’s lack of legitimacy was these institutions’ intention or not, I can’t help but think they were right for not putting in the effort.
Out of the three meetings held by the task force so far, none of them have accepted comments from the public. The August meeting will be where the public can voice their thoughts, according to McGeachin.
Meanwhile, Idaho’s K-12 federal relief plan, which included hundreds of millions to be spent on education, has been denied by the U.S. Department of Education and sent back to the state for revision. After the state failed to explain how they would meet the federal plan requirements, Idaho’s schools are forced to wait for the funds they need.
The Idaho Freedom Foundation, which has members on the indoctrination task force, seems to think Idaho’s spot as last in spending per student is undeserved, arguing “there is plenty of money to educate Idaho’s students.”
They argue because “well under” half the money Idaho spends per student is going toward educators, which says something in its own right, there is enough money.
“The rest of the money is spent on other staff, which includes everything from counselors to administrators, physical therapists to IT professionals,” the IFF article states. “Additional funds are spent on buildings, supplies, transportation and foodservice.”
Idaho is struggling to fund all of those areas, and all of those things are what students need to attend school. Positions and classes dealing with anything outside of what is needed to pass standard testing, such as art and home economics classes, are eradicated in order to reallocate that money to areas where it is needed more, like transportation, supplies, buildings and foodservice.
To many of the students attending Idaho’s public schools, myself included, this mess of politics and lack of funding looks like a failure. Education funding needs more attention, reform and, most importantly, more funds. Idaho is failing their students while bragging about budget surpluses in the meantime.