While the Idaho Freedom Foundation and its legislative acolytes have been busy dismantling schools and institutions of higher learning, the Idaho State Board of Education has been missing in action.
For proof, look no further than how refreshing it was to hear this sentiment from newly installed State Board President Kurt Liebich last month.
Rather than focus on the fraudulent claims that students are being indoctrinated in “critical race theory” and “social justice,” he put a spotlight on the real issues: a yearlong pandemic that has deprived many students of in-person instruction and social activities while it discouraged others from attending a year of college.
“If you’d asked me what the Legislature would have been focused on as the session began, I would have thought the conversation would have been about the impact of the pandemic,” Liebich said. “But that’s not where the conversation’s been at all. It’s been about the issue of do we, or do we not, indoctrinate kids, (and) do we, or do we not, have freedom of expression.”
You’ll get some push back about why, until now, the State Board has been relatively silent in the face of a political special interest — and its followers in public office — who have attacked worthwhile diversity programs in the state’s colleges and universities. They’ve even gone so far as to kill must-pass budgets to pay teachers and operate higher education.
After all, these defenders point out, the gubernatorial appointees on the State Board are volunteers. The regular sessions replete with 300- or 400-page agendas take time away from their occupations and their families. No wonder governors find it difficult to find people willing to take on this assignment.
The COVID-19 pandemic made the job more complicated and more time consuming. While IFF and its minions chewed on the culture wars, the State Board was consumed with how to mitigate the real prospect that a generation of Idaho’s young people had lost a year of academic and social progress — perhaps irrevocably.
That said, the State Board is a constitutional body responsible for every classroom from kindergarten to graduate school.
The panel does not serve at the pleasure of Gov. Brad Little and cannot concern itself about getting in front of him when it comes to defending education — especially when the governor left open the void.
So here’s Liebich’s to-do list:
l Follow the example of University of Idaho President Scott Green by calling out Freedom Foundation President Wayne Hoffman’s true agenda.
Hoffman does not want to reform the system; he aims to abolish it.
“I don’t think government should be in the education business,” Hoffman wrote in a 2019 column. “It is the most virulent form of socialism (and indoctrination thereto) in America today.”
That was no gaffe committed in the middle of an interview. He wrote it down and had it published.
But just for good measure, he refused to pivot.
“Even some of my friends questioned the wisdom of making such a provocative statement. ‘Maybe you should walk that one back,’ a lawyer friend emailed me,” he wrote a few months later. “... Honestly, people need to feel free to openly question whether the government-run education monopoly is the best we can do.”
So as long as “critical race theory” and “social justice” disrupts political support for education, he’ll use it. Next year, he’ll find something else.
l Convene the state board and challenge anyone to document where and when Idaho children are being transformed into left-wing radicals worthy of Saul Alinsky.
Next, bring in the college and university presidents, school board members, teachers, parents and students. Ask what matters to them.
Here’s a bet: They’ll be more concerned about a Legislature that would rather dole out money in tax cuts for the wealthy or spend money on pavement than on Idaho’s perennially underfunded education system.
l Next, urge Idaho’s business community to not only stand up for public education funding, but for diversity programs that prepare young people for the real economy they’re about to encounter.
In other words, fight this battle in the court of public opinion. Today, Hoffman and the radical Republican Legislature have that stage to themselves.
The fact is state board members, once appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state Senate, cannot be removed except for cause — such as malfeasance or incompetence — until they’ve completed their five-year terms of office. They can stand alone if need be.
Of course, the governor is under no obligation to reappoint any State Board member who steps on his toes. But if you’re going to be in the leadership business, you do have to get to the point where you’re willing to risk your job for the right reasons. — M.T.
