Judge’s ruling helps Reclaim Idaho’s education initiative

A federal judge ruled on Tuesday that Reclaim Idaho, in its push to expand funding for education statewide, can have more time to gather signatures for a November ballot initiative.

Judge B. Lynn Winmill said the COVID-19 pandemic and Gov. Brad Little’s stay-home order infringed on the grassroots policy advocacy group’s First Amendment rights by inadvertently curtailing their abilities to collect the requisite signatures necessary to get their initiative on the ballot.

The initiative calls for restoring an 8 percent corporate tax rate and raising the marginal tax rate on those making over $250,000 per year, two moves that would in turn divert $170 million in funding to K-12 education.

“This would result in approximately $600 in additional funding annually per student,” Rebecca Schroeder, executive director for Reclaim Idaho, told The Press. “Districts would have flexibility to prioritize spending. Districts like Coeur d’Alene may lean heavily into teacher salaries to keep our most experienced educators from leaving the state for better pay. Some may choose to make those investments in technology. Some may utilize funds to simply keep the school doors open.”

Winmill gave Little and Idaho Secretary of State Lawerence Denney two choices: Either give Reclaim Idaho an additional 48 days to collect signatures, including through electronic means, or certify that the roughly 30,000 existing signatures are enough to warrant putting the Invest In Idaho initiative on the November ballot. Reclaim Idaho had collected more than half of the approximately 55,000 signatures needed at the time of the March 25 stay-home order, and the policy group had also met most of the legislative district requirements, as well.

Those electronic means, Schroeder explained, include the DocuSign program. She said the program was essentially ready for Reclaim Idaho to use, should the state opt to require them to continue gathering signatures.

The administration has until week’s end to respond to Winmill’s request. Little’s office did not respond to a request for comment.