Thousands of phone calls flood governor’s desk as school choice bill awaits his decision

IDAHO FALLS — A barrage of messages is flooding Gov. Brad Little’s office as supporters and detractors sound off on legislation to create a $50 million Idaho Parental Choice tax credit school choice program.

“The Governor’s Office is collecting and recording thousands of calls, emails, and voicemails on both sides in reference to H.B. 93,” Little’s Press Secretary Joan Varsek wrote in an email to EastIdahoNews.com.

East Idaho News requested the total number of calls to the governor’s office but was not given an exact number.

Little has until Thursday morning before he decides whether or not to sign House Bill 93 into law.

“The Governor is in the process of reviewing this legislation,” Varsek explained. “… The Governor’s Office does not comment until the bill is acted upon.”

Rep. Wendy Horman, R-Idaho Falls, sponsors the measure and defended it in an interview with EastIdahoNews.com.

“This bill is designed to help students for whom the public system isn’t working for one reason or another,” Horman said. “It might be bullying; it might be proximity; it might be academic needs that aren’t being met.”

But local opposition gathered at a “public dollars for private education” town hall Saturday at the Westbank Convention Center in Idaho Falls — raising awareness and encouraging voters to speak out and make calls against the bill.

“We all think public dollars should not be going to private schools,” said Karole Honas, a former news anchor and community activist in Idaho Falls, to approximately 90 residents.

What is House Bill 93?

The legislation would create a $5,000 tax credit for students to attend a private school and a $7,500 tax credit for students with special needs.

“It’s a refundable tax credit, so you can only claim expenses that you have incurred. You can’t claim $5,000 if you only spent $2,000, for example,” Horman said.

The program is capped at $50 million and can be used for tuition, fees, textbooks, curriculum, tutoring and transportation at a “non-public school – so that can be a private school. That could also be a micro-school. That could be a homeschool as long as you’re not the teacher. You can’t give yourself a salary to teach your own child,” she explained.

Horman said the program is open to all but prioritizes families with incomes of less than $95,000 gross or $65,000 adjusted gross income.

Against H.B. 93

Opponents argued at the recent town hall that the program amounts to a voucher program that is not being held accountable to the same standards as public schools.

On Feb. 21, 76 Idaho superintendents and school administrators signed a letter to Little requesting he veto the bill.

“Including accountability for student learning outcomes by requiring beneficiaries of state tax dollars to participate in the state testing program is the only way for Idaho taxpayers to know if this historic disruption to Idaho’s education system actually works,” the superintendents wrote.

The letter was co-signed by east Idaho superintendents Scott Woolstenhulme, Karla LaOrange, Brian Kress, Randy Lords, Chad Martin, Michael Jacobsen, Jared Jenks, Brandon Ferris, Shane Williams, Jeff Gee, Doug McLaren, Basil Morris, Megan Christensen and Douglas Howell.

Currently, “94% of Idaho’s students are in public schools, while about 4% attend private schools,” said Idaho Parent Teacher Association President Alexis Morgan, who discusses education at the_idaho_lady on Instagram.

Private schools can “reject you based on religion, based on a student’s mental capacity, based on a student’s interaction with peers, and based on their academics. They’ll reject you for any one of those things because they can, but public schools will take everyone,” Morgan said.

Honas said Idaho currently has 36,000 students in private schools, while the superintendents wrote that Idaho’s public schools serve more than 300,000 children.

Idaho Business for Education President and CEO Paula Kellerer also said the state does not require private schools to perform background checks or fingerprinting on employees.

Idaho Business for Education, Idaho Parent Teachers Association, and the League of Women Voters of Idaho organized the town hall. Sen. Kevin Cook, R-Idaho Falls, and Rep. Jerald Raymond, R-Menan, attended in support of the opposition.

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Pro H.B. 93

Horman responded to these concerns, saying that private schools would be held accountable for student performance.

“We believe it’s accountable because the school, the non-public school, has to be either accredited, or they have to keep a record that they have a portfolio, we called it, of teaching math, English, science and history, and that they can demonstrate growth,” Horman said.

She also said safeguards in hiring are already taking place in existing schools.

“It is true that this bill does not require them. However, existing private schools already have their own vetting procedures for teachers,” Horman responded.

President Donald Trump also weighed in on the action from his Truth Social platform on Feb. 16, stating:

“Congratulations to Governor Brad Little, and Idaho legislators, who are fighting to bring school choice to their beautiful state,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “$50 million dollars to empower parents to provide the very best education for their child – GREAT news for Idaho families. This bill, which has my complete and total support, MUST PASS!”

“It’s not every day you run a bill that is endorsed by a President of the United States,” Horman said.

She said characterizations of her as anti-education are unfair and incorrect.

“I would never run this bill if I thought for one minute it was going to harm public schools or children,” Horman said. “The research is clear that when you have a healthier school choice environment, public schools have better outcomes too. … It’s the free market principle that competition is a rising tide that lifts all boats.”

The measure passed the Idaho House 42-28 and the Senate on a 20-15 vote.

RELATED | Private education tax credit heads to governor

How to weigh in on the issue

Individuals wanting to weigh in on the governor’s decision can call the Governor’s Office at (208) 334-2100 and press 1 to encourage him to sign H.B. 93 and 2 to encourage him to veto it.

“The phone tree in place is often used in our office for bills that generate a lot of public interest,” Varsek wrote. “It is not a hotline or polling mechanism and allows constituent voices to be heard while affording our staff the ability to connect with Idahoans on other issues as well.”

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