OPINION: Cheers and Jeers: A Judas to Idaho schools

JEERS ... to Idaho Gov. Brad Little.

Thursday, he signaled the state’s retreat from public education, earmarking $50 million in tax credits to subsidize the education of kids attending private schools.

It won’t stop there. As in other states, the pressure from out-of-state voucher lobbies will drive Idaho to expand toward a universal program, with a price tag exceeding $300 million. Eventually, that will drain money not just from Idaho schools, but from every other program as well — including the governor’s signature Launch program, which enables high school graduates to continue their education.

“Idaho can have it all — strong public schools AND education freedom. Providing high-quality education for Idaho students will always be our top priority,” Little said.

There’s an apt response. It’s unprintable in a family newspaper.

But this governor is full of it.

Idaho remains in the national basement in terms of the money it allocates toward educating each pupil.

Its schools are falling apart and the state hasn’t come close to providing enough money to repair or replace them.

Idaho’s teacher salaries are not competitive with those offered by most states in this region.

The Legislature is so negligent in meeting its constitutional obligations toward public school funding that patrons have backfilled with record amounts of local property taxes.

Even Little admitted Tuesday that lawmakers ignored his own parameters — “fair, responsible, transparent and accountable” — for a voucher bill.

“The only thing this perfectly fit into was my $50 million box,” he said.

Why did the governor seek public opinion on this if he was going to ignore it?

Every indicator so far — including polling and a sample of emails sent to a key House committee earlier in the process — showed opposition to the voucher plan. If Little’s automated phone polling system supported his decision to enact a voucher bill into law, why is he stonewalling Idaho Education News’ attempts to see the results?

Little had leeway to stop this measure because his supporters in the Legislature — 19 Republicans in the House and nine in Senate — voted against the bill, preventing it from getting the two-thirds majority needed to override a veto. They did so at some risk. Next year, the deep-pocketed, out-of-state pro-voucher movement will target them for defeat in the closed GOP primary election and replace them with toadies who will put Idaho on a glide path toward an expanded universal program.

With a stroke of the pen, the governor has erased a state constitutional ban against providing “any public fund or moneys whatever ... to help support or sustain any school ... controlled by any church, sectarian or religious denomination whatsoever.” Thanks to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling, once a state begins supporting private schools, it can’t prohibit equal treatment to religious schools.

Little has betrayed public education.

He has betrayed public opinion.

He has betrayed the Idaho state Constitution.

And the governor has betrayed his own supporters within the GOP — presumably to court the MAGA wing as well as President Donald Trump, who endorsed the voucher bill.

What’s the modern political equivalent of 30 pieces of silver?

Is it winning a third term as governor?

Is it elevation to the U.S. Senate?

Is it an appointment to the Trump administration?

Nor is this the first time Little has capitulated — whether it was abandoning sound public health measures in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, going along with efforts to undermine the initiative process or even signing what he acknowledged was a “stinking” library bounty bill.

So it’s time to ask: What difference does it make whether the governor of the Gem State is Attorney General Raul Labrador, former Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin, House Speaker Mike Moyle — or Little — if we’re going to wind up with the same results?

JEERS ... to Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho.

Three years ago, when Russia invaded Ukraine, Risch — now chairperson of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee — was resolute in standing up to Vladimir Putin. He supported aid to the democracy and criticized President Joe Biden for not doing more.

If Putin prevails, he “is not going to stop with Ukraine,” said Risch, as quoted by the New York Times. “If we end up in war with Russia, what we’re spending here is a drop in the bucket by comparison. I deal with this every day and it’s on my mind every day.”

As it ought to be. Risch has access to national security information. Experts from private think tanks, congressional staff and the Congressional Research Service are available to him. He has contacts around the world. He frequently attends the Munich Security Conference.

When Trump sides with Putin, Risch knows better.

When the president calls Ukraininan President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a dictator, the Idaho Republican can refute it.

When Trump accuses Ukraine of starting the war, Risch understands just how Orwellian that is.

One way out, says Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Trudy Rubin, is for “the GOP’s hawks, who understand the danger of a Putin victory (backed by China, North Korea, and Iran) to finally grow some courage.”

Don’t count on Risch to be among them. So apparently sycophantic toward Trump during his first term, the Idaho Republican has resorted to word salad during the second:

Trump’s peace talks are “a work in progress,” he said. He would give Trump “space” to negotiate.

“But obviously, Ukrainians have to be there — and the Europeans for that matter, too,” he said.

At least that’s better than his response to the Atlantic Magazine’s Elaine Godfrey, who took the time to ask every Republican in Congress whether Russia invaded Ukraine or if Putin is a dictator.

Risch’s response: No comment. — M.T.