Senate Bill 1290, sponsored by Sen. Janie Ward-Engelking (D-Boise) and Rep. Sally Toone (D-Gooding), establishes a rural educator incentive program for educators who work in high-need or rural school districts and charter schools. It would provide the maximum amount of eligible funding, which gradually increases for each year the educator stays in the school. 

The program provides $1,500 to an educator after their first year, $2,500 the second, $3,500 the third, and $4,500 the fourth, for a max total of $12,000. The funds could cover education loan repayments, additional and advanced degrees, or other educational costs.

Ward-Engelking and Toone spent a number of years trying to pass different versions of the bill, which aims to help retain and support Idaho educators in rural and high-need areas, where the state’s teacher shortage is even more severe. Both said they appreciate the support of the governor to finally make this multi-year effort a reality.

“This is a great day for educators in our rural and underserved schools,” Toone said. “The program will offer incredible opportunities for our beginning teachers and additional programs to districts, helping keep educators in these critical areas of our state.”

“Educators are the backbone of our local communities,” Ward-Engelking added. “This program is a way to give them more time working with students, instead of needing two jobs just to cover rent and a loan payment. By investing in our teachers, we can better keep them not only in our rural and underserved schools but the profession.”

House Bill 824 died in a 33-36 vote. The legislation had been reworked twice, and objections from legislators led to $307,000 being cut from the commission’s budget, which would eliminate a statewide e-book collection. The ongoing money had been used annually to purchase new e-book and e-audio titles for K-12 students at all Idaho schools, since many districts lack an adequate book budget. The e-books in the collection are also available to homeschooled students and others through most public libraries.

Republicans didn’t believe the cut went far enough, leading them to kill the bill. Assistant Democratic Leader Lauren Necochea (D-Boise) said it was clear the attack on library funding was motivated by GOP legislators’ desire for vengeance over House Bill 666, which sought to criminalize librarians, being held in the Senate.

“The revised budget already punished Idaho students, reducing their access to books so that House GOP legislators could make a political statement,” Necochea said. “This vote was senseless retribution against the librarians who spoke out against the absurd House Bill 666. When you propose legislation that threatens jail time and fines for librarians, you should expect their opposition. Ultimately, Idaho’s children are paying the price with diminished access to books, especially in schools with limited resources.”

The budget will now have to be revised in the Joint Finance-Appropriation Committee, then pass both the House and Senate before the legislature can adjourn.

Rep. James Ruchti

That money would have helped communities build and fund preschool programs in accordance with local needs and values. But Republicans were bullied by the Idaho Freedom Foundation into voting against the grant, which had been secured by our U.S. senators under the Trump administration. Because of this, Idaho remains one of four states that doesn’t offer public pre-K.

Now the IFF’s Idaho Freedom Action group has launched a smear campaign against us for voting in support of early childhood education, saying we were pushing “critical race theory” on Idaho children. What dangerous nonsense.

Investigation after investigation proves CRT isn’t being taught in our schools at any level. And yet, that false narrative continues to be pushed by the IFF and its legislative puppets in order to defund and undermine public education in Idaho, causing serious damage to our local communities, educators, and children.

This malicious lie also just distracts us from addressing the real issues impacting Idahoans, like underfunded schools and a lack of accessible child care options.

Sen. David Nelson

For many, pre-K serves as a form of day care for children while parents are at work. It also helps children develop a number of critical skills, like literacy, that better prepare them for success in kindergarten. Had we accepted the $6 million grant, it would have greatly benefitted young working families, as well as our economy by allowing parents to enter or stay in the workforce. 

But one lawmaker made it clear in his debate he had no interest in voting for a bill that made “it easier or more convenient for mothers to come out of the home.” 

Voting to accept that grant was a no-brainer, and it would have been a major investment in our most precious resource: our children. That money would have actually been the second distribution from the federal Preschool Development Grants Program. We accepted the first $6 million in 2020, and saw great success in our local communities. Both of our districts have early learning collaboratives — the Kendrick-Julietta and Pocatello-Chubbuck preschools  — that directly benefited.

If given the opportunity, we’d continue to vote in favor of it, and won’t stop fighting for quality public education at every level, particularly for our youngest learners. As elected officials, we represent the people of Idaho, not the interests of extremist groups trying to destroy our state, like the IFF. No amount of bullying or intimidation will ever change that.

Senate Bill 1290, sponsored by Sen. Janie Ward-Engelking (D-Boise) and Rep. Sally Toone (D-Gooding), establishes a rural educator incentive program for educators who work in high-need or rural school districts and charter schools. It would provide the maximum amount of eligible funding, which gradually increases for each year the educator stays in the school. 

Ward-Engelking said the program provides $1,500 to an educator after their first year, $2,500 the second, $3,500 the third, and $4,500 the fourth, for a max total of $12,000. The funds could cover education loan repayments, additional and advanced degrees, or other educational costs.

Both Ward-Engelking and Toone have spent a number of years trying to pass different versions of the bill, which aims to help retain and support Idaho educators in rural and high-need areas, where the state’s teacher shortage is even more severe.

“Our educators do so much for our children and local communities,” Ward-Engelking said. “This program is a way to give them more time working with students, instead of needing two jobs just to pay rent and a loan payment, making it easier to stay in our rural areas and the profession.”

Senate Bill 1319, sponsored by Sen. David Nelson (D-Moscow), fixes a flaw in state code that was a barrier for some of Idaho’s bigger school districts and charter schools to apply for funds from the Federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, which appropriated $5 billion to help purchase low or zero emission school buses. 

Nelson said Idaho schools will be able to buy practical, electric school buses and utilize the state’s inexpensive and clean electric power from renewable sources, helping save money over the life of the buses. 

“Our schools will save money in the long run and our students will be less exposed to dirty diesel emissions with these new buses,” he said.

Sen. David Nelson

The Idaho Legislature’s Office of Performance Evaluations recently found 20% of schools should be retired in the next 10 years, and 53% need significant maintenance or else they will soon fall in that category as well. The estimated cost to bring just the buildings in the 77 districts surveyed up to a “good” condition is at least $847 million. It will take between $1-2 billion for all school districts.

And we still don’t have enough information to really know the extent of the problem. The last statewide facility condition assessment of K-12 public school buildings was in 1993. At the time, districts had a total of almost $700 million in building repairs, additional facilities, or upgrades. When adjusted for inflation to 2020 dollars, that amount is $1.3 billion.

Currently, Idaho is almost last in the U.S. for funding school maintenance. We may be underfunding maintenance and capital investment by as much as $767 million per year due to the antiquated system we use to determine how much to spend.

A 2005 Idaho Supreme Court ruling found the legislature failed to meet its constitutional obligation to sufficiently fund school buildings. That still hasn’t changed. Of all 50 states, Idaho spent the least per student on school buildings at an average of $1,080. The national average was $2,306. The legislature has a yearly responsibility to revisit the formula used to calculate replacement value and revise, if necessary, but hasn’t done so since 2008.

Schools are forced to rely heavily on supplemental levies and bonds to address district needs — mechanisms designed as fallback systems that are now responsible for keeping the lights on. Since 2006, the year school funding shifted to the sales tax, 111 of 120, or 92%, school districts willing to run a bond had an active supplemental levy in place.

Only 40% of bonds — which require two-thirds voter approval — passed in that same time as well. If the voting requirement was lowered to 60%, most would have passed.

Idaho’s negligence isn’t just damaging our schools and communities but our children’s futures, and it presents a serious public safety issue. The legislature needs to address this issue immediately, and I want to see two things happen.

We should create a state bond matching fund that aims to match half of the funding for new construction and remodeling. All of Idaho’s neighboring states, except Nevada, have grant programs that help districts with the building plans and provide capital funding for projects. If we appropriated $100 million yearly to start, we could make a real difference.

We also need to change the bond approval rate from the current two-thirds standard. No neighboring state has that supermajority threshold. We should set it at 60% and consider having a voter turnout threshold added. The Idaho Constitution would need to be amended to do this, which allows all Idahoans to weigh in. This process should start now.

We can’t continue to kick the problem down the road and shirk our constitutional obligation. It is our job to ensure public schools receive adequate and uniform support, so we can best foster the next generation. But if safe facilities don’t exist, that can’t happen. Our educators and children deserve better. It’s beyond time to invest in Idaho schools.

Sen. David Nelson

The legislation, sponsored by Sen. David Nelson (D-Moscow), would enable the Idaho Legislature to appropriate additional funding to K-12 schools. Per the bill, if a school has a supplemental levy in place, 75% of the allocated money must go to reducing the levy. But if there is no levy, the school can use the funds at their discretion. 

Nelson said the proposal not only benefits schools, but lowers property taxes for residential homeowners, as more districts have been forced to rely on levies for general maintenance. Currently, 89 of Idaho’s 115 school districts have levies in place totaling $218 million.

Nelson said if the bill passed and $300 million were appropriated, property taxes would be reduced by $141 million. The number of schools with an active levy would be cut in half as well. 

“Strong and successful communities start with our children’s schools. By providing our school districts the resources they desperately need, we can ensure facilities are safe and sustainable, teachers have access to the tools they need to succeed, and children receive an excellent education anywhere in the state. With the bill, we can also alleviate the growing property tax burden on homeowners,” Nelson said. “This is a win-win.”

Sen. David Nelson

All Democrats voted against the legislation, advocating instead for more critical tax solutions, such as reducing property taxes or repealing the sales tax on groceries, and using state funds to plug the holes in school budgets that must be filled by supplemental levies.

Under the bill, someone with $1 million in annual taxable income will receive an ongoing yearly tax cut of over $5,000 on top of a nearly $8,000 one-time rebate. Idahoans with the most modest incomes will receive a rebate of about $75. It also lowers the corporate income tax rate from 6.5% to 6%, matching the sales tax rate people pay for food, diapers, medicines, and other needs. 

Sen. David Nelson, D-Moscow, was one of several Democrats who said they hadn’t been contacted by a single constituent asking for an income tax cut. In his debate against the bill, Nelson said he’d received a number of calls asking for a repeal of the grocery tax, meaningful property tax relief, and well-funded schools. But if signed into law, HB436 will gobble up much of the dollars needed to address any of those critical needs, he added. The bill has a one-time cost of $350 million in addition to an ongoing cost of $250 million, for a total of $600 million.

Sen. Michelle Stennett

“Our legislative priorities are completely lopsided when the first bill we pass blatantly ignores the needs of Idaho’s working families,” Nelson said. “Why not help our local schools and provide the necessary funding needed to make essential facility repairs rather than force districts to rely on supplemental levies for general maintenance. Or increase our property tax assistance program to help keep fixed-income seniors in their homes. That’s what we should be doing.”

Senate Democratic Leader Michelle Stennett, D-Ketchum, echoed Nelson, and said Idahoans deserve long-term benefits from their tax investments.

“Right now, there are over 2,000 bridges in need of repair in our state — some of the most dangerous are in my district. This is a major public safety issue. We have to be looking at the real problems, like Idaho’s crumbling infrastructure, before anything else,” Stennett said. “Do people want a one-time $75 check, or to have services that boost the safety, wellbeing and quality of life for themselves and their children?”

Wintrow: You were in school when allegations of teachers indoctrinating students started to circulate this year. How did you react?

Rajbhandari: It was like, “Wow, they are attacking teachers when they are already putting in double the work and paid so little, over something that isn’t even happening.” It was shocking, and also seemed incredibly hypocritical coming from people who say they want limited government, while simultaneously trying to micromanage everything at the local level.

W: It looks like history is repeating itself. In the 1980s, the Reagan administration launched a similar attack against teachers and public education in hopes of privatizing schools.

R: The people in the Statehouse who are attacking teachers and pushing this idea of indoctrination say students should be taught to think critically. What is critical thinking if not allowing us to learn about an issue and then making our own decisions as to its validity? We don’t want to be “indoctrinated” with an abridged version of history anymore. Censorship doesn’t prepare us for the future.

W: You were one of many students who protested against legislation further censoring academic discussions on the impacts of racism. What prompted you to speak up?

R: This was the first year I paid attention to state politics, and I’m glad I did. They weren’t listening to students at all, and that’s who this is actually going to affect. We are stakeholders, and deserve an opportunity to share our thoughts like anyone else.

W: Problems are solved when we work across generations. Now is the time to listen. The lieutenant governor continues to bolster this idea of indoctrination — a narrative she and special interest groups created out of thin air. She even formed a team to address this non-issue, wasting taxpayer dollars and distracting from the real problems. I was struck by her comment in the latest meeting to students who attempted to speak. “This is not a dialogue,” she told them.

R: Of course it’s not a dialogue. They don’t want to listen, because this isn’t about students or teachers: this is about maintaining power by instilling irrational fear. This is no task force; it’s a press conference for Janice McGeachin’s campaign. I’m going to remember for the rest of my life who is listening to me now. There are lots of students watching — a lot more than you think, and word gets around. We’ll vote accordingly when the time comes.

W: Then where should we focus?

R: Funding schools at all levels, and that’s on the Legislature. Boise schools are some of the best funded in Idaho, but our buildings are still crumbling. I know rural districts are struggling even more. Teachers aren’t being paid enough, and young people aren’t learning how to navigate our global economy. We don’t have preschool or even full-day kindergarten.

W: We should be investing in our students, not leaving them to work with less. I was shocked to hear GOP legislators say they were “proud” of cutting $2.5M from public education. That vote will forever stain our record; it was shameful. They are underestimating students; thankfully you’re not going away. They may win a skirmish or two, but the battle hasn’t been won.

R: We need more students to be aware of what’s happening, then show up. We also need decision makers to open that door and listen.

W: And if the door isn’t open, your intelligence and perseverance will unlock it.

After three years on the committee, my goal now is to prevent the dismantling of public and higher education. Many of the bills and laws being passed are politicizing education. A high school debate coach would cringe at arguments put forth during committee hearings. Meanwhile, the real problems are being ignored.

Critical thinking is on life support in the House Education committee. Here’s just a small sampling of actions by the majority party, which controls education policy priorities:

One member led a state-wide effort to teach children how to burn masks at public rallies while Idahoans were dying from a pandemic. This committee member is helping rewrite Idaho’s science standards.

One member claimed we do not have co-equal branches of government, asserting that the legislature is most important because “there are more people in it.” This member wants to re-write standards, which includes teaching government and civics.

One member suggested that students with social emotional learning problems should be “taken behind the woodshed.”

One member justified their opposition to Idaho’s education standards because their grandchild lost interest in science.

One member sponsored a bill that takes money away from public schools if they didn’t keep classrooms open during a future pandemic, even if the mortality rate was 50%. The committee approved it.

One member sponsored a bill that would take 90% of the education budget and convert it into vouchers used to pay for private and religious school tuition. The committee approved it.

One member introduced a bill that would allow anyone above the age of 18 with only a bachelor’s degree in any non-education field to teach your children. The committee approved it.

One member sponsored a bill that reduced the educational qualifications of a charter school administrator to be less than that of the teachers they hire. The committee approved it.

A Republican Party official running for governor was permitted to film himself introducing a bill he wrote that would allow teachers to be sued and take money away from schools if topics he didn’t like were discussed in any classroom. The committee approved this bill and the act of political theater surrounding it.

Perhaps most disturbing was observing a group of majority party committee members repeatedly meet with an organization that virulently opposes public education. These meetings were held in a conference room inside my office suite. This same organization attacked a committee member who didn’t fall in line.  The result: the committee voted to abolish every K-12 education standard in Idaho and replace them with . . . nothing. The committee member under attack lost his primary election two months later.

How do we restore critical thinking when setting education policy in Idaho? It starts with electing legislators who reject extremism and the politicizing of education. Voters must dismiss the manufactured fear and misinformation being used to control their child’s education – and reject candidates who embrace these tactics. One place to start is by watching for extremist rhetoric, the bills candidates support, and how they vote.

In the end, the vote that matters most is yours. Next November, vote for the person, not just a letter in the alphabet or a color in the rainbow. Your child’s education – and the state’s future – is at stake.