Idaho governor's phone number asks for feedback on school choice

The first Idaho school choice bill that would allow state funds to go toward private schools is awaiting a signature from Gov. Brad Little.

On Wednesday, the Senate narrowly approved House Bill 93 — which provides $50 million for a tax credit that may go toward private school tuition, “microschools” and some other educational expenses. On Thursday, the main phone number for Little’s office, 208-334-2100, included an option to submit feedback on whether he should veto the bill.

The automated message asks if the caller is calling about HB 93, and if so, the message states that the governor’s office is accepting calls from Idaho residents and only one call per resident, with the option to press 1 to ask him to sign the bill and press 2 to veto it. There is also an option to leave a message or speak to a staff member.

Some calls to the number resulted in a message that there were “system problems,” and did not go through.

The governor’s press secretary, Joan Varsek, said the office has used “a similar recording before on topics that generate more calls than staff have time to answer.”

Varsek said Friday the office did not have the results of the responses so far.

Little in previous years opposed attempts to allow state funds to go toward private schooling, but this year, he indicated in his State of the State address that he would support a school choice bill if it was “fair, responsible, transparent and accountable.”

“It must prioritize the families that need it most and it must not take funds away from public schools,” Little said in his address.

He has not specified what would meet those criteria, but he recommended $50 million in his proposed budget for school choice.

HB 93’s sponsors, Rep. Wendy Horman, R-Idaho Falls, and Senate Majority Leader Lori Den Hartog, R-Meridian, have tried a number of times over the years to pass school choice legislation that would allow state funds to be used for private education.

During the 2024 May primary election, school choice rose to a central theme and common dividing issue among Republican opponents. A number of incumbent legislators who had opposed prior school choice bills fell to their challengers.