Concern for students
At the March 18 special Moscow School Board meeting about the possible plan to close Russell School and relocate students and teachers, I was moved by sincere concerns regarding uprooting students and the loss of a much-loved school building.
However, I was also moved by the sincere expressions of appreciation for all the wonderful teachers and administrators in our district who work very hard to ensure that every student, no matter where they come from or what abilities they have, is welcomed, and guaranteed to feel they belong, no matter what school they attend.
We truly have an exceptional school district, but we have serious problems with our school facilities. There is a clear reason for this.
Not only has the Idaho Legislature disregarded its constitutional duty to “maintain a general, uniform and thorough system of public, free common schools,” it has ignored the Idaho Supreme Court’s 2005 ruling that the Legislature is primarily responsible for financing public school facilities without regard to “valuation of local property.” Idaho school districts must pass facility bonds with a two-thirds majority, the highest rate in the nation. The burden of funding school facilities should not rest on property owners. It rests on our elected legislators who have not taken their duty seriously. It’s time for a change.
I am running for the Idaho Legislature (District 6 Seat B) because, as a former Moscow teacher, I’m determined to search for solutions to Idaho’s underfunded public schools and relieve property owners of this undue burden.
Kathy Dawes
Moscow
