Much of the discussion around the issue of using taxpayer dollars to help families send their children to private schools has centered on coming up with a compromise, because it’s inevitable this is the year — finally — that Idaho legislators approve some form of taxpayer-funded private education.
It’s a tempting position to take: “Well, something’s going to get passed this year, so we should at least work with the school voucher proponents to put guardrails and limits on it.”
Setting income limits, limiting total funding, including a sunset clause or making it just a tax credit all sound like reasonable compromises.
But Idaho legislators — and Idaho taxpayers — shouldn’t take the bait.
Any proposal that diverts any amount of money under any circumstances to help fund private education is the camel’s nose under the tent.
“It’s a mistake to treat this as something you have to compromise on because … once you compromise you open the door,” Sen. James Ruchti, D-Pocatello, said at a meeting in December between education leaders and lawmakers, according to Idaho Education News. “Even if there are sideboards put on … those sideboards will be removed in another few years. So this is the place to take a stand.”
We’ll let you in on a secret: All of these voucher programs started out small and with sideboards.
For example, the Indiana program, when it first started in 2011, targeted just low- and middle-income families, limited scholarship amounts and set a cap on participation.
In its first year, the Indiana Choice Scholarship Program cost approximately $15.5 million.
Today, the Indiana Choice Scholarship Program costs approximately $500 million a year.
Indiana’s program now includes households with incomes up to 400% of the amount required for a student to qualify for the federal free or reduced price lunch program, equal to about $220,000, according to the Indiana Capital Chronicle.
Aside from the slippery slope argument, we’ll add that it’s OK for Idaho legislators to just say no simply because it’s the right thing to stand on principle.
It’s OK to not compromise on your principles.
Idaho lawmakers have an obligation “to establish and maintain a general, uniform and thorough system of public, free common schools,” according to the Idaho Constitution.
That’s it. End of story. Idaho lawmakers do not have an obligation to fund a second system of private, paid schools.
