Gov. Brad Little Monday proposed setting aside $50 million in state revenue for a private school choice program that directs public funds to private schoolers and home-schoolers.
A Republican in his second term, Little revealed his policy agenda during the annual State of the State address before state lawmakers and members of the Idaho Supreme Court. In addition to the funds for private schooling, Little called for $150 million in new public school spending, including $83 million for teacher raises, and he proposed $100 million in tax relief.
Monday’s speech marked the first time Little has publicly supported spending tax dollars on private school tuition. Republican-led states across the U.S. have adopted private school choice programs in recent years, but Idaho lawmakers have repeatedly rejected proposals since around 2018.
Idaho already has “an abundance of schooling options,” Little said, touting the popularity of charter schools as well as state laws that allow students to attend any public school in the state.
“I recognize the growing desire to expand school choice, especially for students with unique physical or developmental conditions,” he said. “… Just like we do with every taxpayer dollar that is spent in government, we will ensure there is oversight in school choice.”
To read Little’s full speech, click here.
Little: Private school spending must be ‘transparent and accountable’
Little said any private school choice measure he considers must be “fair, responsible, transparent and accountable” and “prioritize the families that need it most.” It also cannot “take funds away from public schools.”
His call for private school spending came hours after Rep. Wendy Horman debuted a refundable tax credit proposal that would spend $50 million on private school tuition and other education expenses, like books and transportation.
Co-sponsored with Sen. Lori Den Hartog, R-Meridian, the bill would allow private school and home-school families to claim $5,000 tax credits for education expenses. Students with special needs would be offered $7,500, and families earning below 300% would have first claim to the money.
“For many, many years, Sen. Den Hartog and I have been partners in trying to advance opportunities for all our children,” Horman, R-Idaho Falls, said during a news conference hosted by the Mountain States Policy Center. “We’re not giving up until we succeed.”
Speaking with reporters following his formal speech, Little hinted at his druthers when it comes to accountability over private school spending: Something that demonstrates learning growth, similar to the standards imposed on public schools.
“It’s a little hypocritical for me to demand accountability for public schools and then give money to somebody else that doesn’t have any accountability,” he said. “It’s just a credibility issue.”
Den Hartog told reporters Friday that the tax credit proposal doesn’t include requirements for standardized testing or oversight of curriculum. But House Republican leaders said Monday that they’re willing to work with the governor on accountability metrics.
“I think we’re going to come up with some solutions that will satisfy his desires as well as ours,” said House Majority Leader Jason Monks, R-Meridian. “But whenever we talk about accountability, I think we have to say ‘Who is the most accountable?’ And it’s always going to be the parent.”
Democrats, public school advocates slam private school choice proposal
Democrats, meanwhile, slammed the governor’s proposal, and groups representing public school teachers and trustees expressed disappointment, after Little had remained on the sidelines of the private school choice debate for years.
And Senate Assistant Minority Leader James Ruchti, D-Pocatello, said private school spending would “eat up all public education money,” particularly during a recession. House Minority Leader Ilana Rubel said Idaho Democrats are “too conservative” to support sending taxpayer dollars to private schools without strings attached.
“Why would we jeopardize the necessary services that Idahoans count on so that we can cut checks to the wealthiest families in the state to cover their private school tuition?” Rubel said.
Idaho Education Association President Layne McInelly said that Little’s “past leadership on this issue” helped “keep these schemes to siphon tax dollars to for-profit, private and religious schools out of Idaho.” IEA, the statewide teachers’ union, last year directed tens of thousands of dollars to a political action committee that opposed Horman and supported one of her primary opponents.
“Rather than siphoning public tax dollars to for-profit, private, and religious schools, we should invest in the future of our children by finally ending the state’s chronic underfunding of education,” McInelly said in a news release.
The Idaho School Boards Association last year adopted a resolution opposing “any effort” to divert public funds to private education.
“While we appreciate all that the Governor has done and continues to do to support public education in Idaho, we are saddened to hear that he has conceded to the noise around the school privatization rhetoric,” Misty Swanson, ISBA’s executive director, said in a news release.
Little calls for teacher raises, expanding capacity for workforce training
Little also called for more than $150 million in new spending on public schools. This includes $83 million in raises for K-12 teachers, administrators and staff, $28 million for teacher health insurance and $50 million for rural school facilities, mental health and school safety and accountability initiatives tied to learning and literacy.
The state’s career ladder program, which provided annual increases for public school teachers, expires this fiscal year. Little proposed tying school employee raises to the broader “change in employee compensation” (CEC) mechanism that determines pay increases for other state employees. While a state law triggered annual raises under the career ladder, CEC raises are set each year by a legislative committee with approval from the House and Senate.
Little’s budget also endorses state superintendent Debbie Critchfield’s public school spending requests. Critchfield, a Republican, proposed a per-student funding formula that would divvy districts’ discretionary funding — about $432.1 million, or 13% of the overall public school support budget — based on weights that account for higher-cost students.
Little said his agenda prioritizes “first and foremost” public schools. “Adequately funding public schools is both our constitutional and our moral obligation, and we will not abandon that obligation.”
He also called for $25 million to build workforce training capacity that supports Idaho Launch. In its inaugural year, the program gave scholarships to nearly 6,500 students to finance college degrees or workforce training.
Little proposed spending $15 million on additional classroom and laboratory space for career-technical education programs and another $10 million to add seats in community colleges and technical colleges. Community college enrollment increased 15% after Launch, Little said.
“Launch convinced kids who never would have considered training after high school to go on,” he said. “Many of these students will support the industries that help us keep up with growth — jobs in construction, auto technicians and plumbers, along with welders, electricians, and a host of other professions.”
Critchfield and Idaho State Board of Education president Linda Clark applauded Little’s proposed investments in public schools. The weighted formula would give districts more flexibility to fund the students that they’re serving, Critchfield said.
“It addresses the reality that some students’ needs are greater than others, and that districts and charters aren’t the same and must spend more to meet those needs,” she said in a news release.
Clark praised the teacher raise and workforce training proposals.
“These are critical investments that will continue to improve Idaho’s public education system at all levels, and the plan builds on past education investments made by this Governor starting when he took office six years ago,” Clark said in a news release.
Little’s total state budget recommendation is $5.6 billion, up from $5.4 billion for the current fiscal year, a 4.5% increase.
Little also recommended $100 million in tax cuts adding to the $4.6 billion in tax relief provided during his administration. However, Little didn’t specify a mechanism, whether decreasing collections on income or sales taxes or offering property tax relief.
House Speaker Mike Moyle, R-Star, said he would like to see an even bigger number, possibly three times as large as $100 million.
“I want to see a lot more tax relief than we’ve seen the last few years, and I want to see a lot less spending in those budgets,” Moyle said.
For additional highlights from Little’s proposed budget, click here.