Funding for K-12 education is on a legislative rollercoaster

For months, our state leaders offered a clear promise: Idaho’s K-12 classrooms would be protected from budget cuts. This week, that promise was broken. The recent directive for the State Department of Education to prepare for 1% and 2% cuts to K-12 school district budgets, totaling upwards of $55 million, is not just a fiscal shift; it is a step backward for every child in Coeur d’Alene Public Schools and across the state.

A Constitutional Mandate, Not an Option. 

The Idaho Constitution is not a suggestion. Article IX, Section 1, explicitly states: "it shall be the duty of the legislature of Idaho, to establish and maintain a general, uniform and thorough system of public, free common schools." Education is the only service the state is constitutionally mandated to provide. When we cut funding for this "constitutional mandate," we are not just managing a budget; we are neglecting our highest legal obligation.

Dead Last is Not a Goal. 

Idaho already ranks 51st in the nation for per-pupil spending. We currently spend thousands less per student than our neighboring states. Coeur d’Alene Public Schools teachers and staff have done heroic work with the very limited resources they are given. We cannot continue to ask them to do more with less when we are already starting at the bottom when it comes to adequately funding our schools.

Stability Over Uncertainty. 

Mid-year budget cuts are particularly damaging. They force school districts to scramble, disrupting existing contracts and vital student services. Seventy-five percent of our budget year has nearly passed and the money is already spent.

Asking school districts to reduce their budgets by 1% or 2% — which for us means cutting $1 or $2 million — with only a few months of the school year remaining, could result in cutting athletics, ending shop programs, cutting support for math and literacy programs, cuts to interventions, cuts to music, art, and debate programs, declaring financial emergencies to break teacher contracts (in order to lay off teachers) resulting in larger class sizes, reducing support staff, initiating hiring freezes, increasing fees, and creating a heavier reliance on local taxpayers for adequate funding. These choices are not “options or considerations.” They are collateral damage that would result from a legislative failure to prioritize the growth and success of Idaho’s future generations, should our elected leaders implement these devastating cuts.

If we can afford to spend $50 million of taxpayer dollars to fund private education initiatives — at a time when our state budget is under water — we surely can, and must, afford to keep our public schools whole as promised by our elected leaders.

Our students are not line items on a spreadsheet. They are the future of Idaho's economy and the backbone of our communities. Public schools are the largest workforce development centers in the state. I call on our legislators to honor their public commitments, prioritize our students, uphold their constitutional duty, and exclude K-12 education from additional and harmful budget cuts.

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Dr. Shon Hocker is the superintendent of Coeur d'Alene Public Schools.