Letter to the Editor

State’s private school funding plan is wrong

Wednesday, February 19, 2025

Dear editor,

This letter is about our kids. I hope Mountain Home News readers are aware the Idaho legislature is attempting to spend $50 million of public funds for private schools while our public schools are woefully underfunded.

This is simply wrong!

Elmore and Owyhee counties contain rural schools with limited private school options. Should Idaho implement empowerment scholarships, education savings accounts or opportunity programs, all vouchers, our counties will be supporting urban, private schools with public dollars – taxes we all pay.

Idaho spends $8,748 for each student in our public schools, ranking last in this nation. Our neighbors, Oregon and Washington, spend $15,754 and $17,119 per public school student. The conservative state of Oklahoma spends $10,890 per public school student. Connecticut spends $24,453 per public school student.

As you see, Idaho is underfunding our public schools. Imagine what $50 million could do for our kids.

Please contact your legislator and tell them spending $50 million toward private schools is simply wrong. Spend our Idaho tax dollars where the dollars will have greater impact on our public schools and Idaho’s kids.

Respectfully,

– Terri Sanders, Mountain Home

Comments

View 1 comment

Note: The nature of the Internet makes it impractical for our staff to review every comment. Please note that those who post comments on this website may do so using a screen name, which may or may not reflect a website user's actual name. Readers should be careful not to assign comments to real people who may have names similar to screen names. Refrain from obscenity in your comments, and to keep discussions civil, don't say anything in a way your grandmother would be ashamed to read.

Thanks Teri. I too have questions and concerns about my tax dollars being used to fund the “school choice” bills proposed by Little.

With a threshold of $5000 per child, a family with 5 children could receive up to $35,000 in public tax dollars paid by you and me.

That’s in addition to the standard dependent and a $12,000 child care expense deduction passed during the 2023 session.

No metrics for financial accountability and education attainment.

Complete disregard for the impact of this scheme on the state budget and public school system.

No voice for taxpayers without children.

No clear monitoring plan. In December, an Arizona grand jury indicted a couple that applied for and received more than $110,000 from the state’s school voucher/refundable tax scam as parents to 50 children — 43 of whom did not exist.

Is Little going to allow public tax dollars to be used to fund religious schools? Is the state going to allow our tax dollars go to religious organizations, some of which think women should not have the right to vote?

Bottom line, there are a lot of unanswered questions.

Please. Call Governor Little and tell him to put the brakes on this runaway train.

-- Posted by homedog1 on Wed, Feb 19, 2025, at 4:32 PM

Respond to this story

Posting a comment requires free registration:

If you already have an account, follow this link to login
Otherwise, follow this link to register