They call it “one of the most important functions” of their Annual Convention. But when the Idaho School Boards Association (ISBA) meets in Boise in November to pass a legislative platform, they may want to reconsider their concentration.
Among the 17 proposals being put forward, not one calls for an increase in student outcomes, performance or accountability. More than half request new funding or the ability to raise taxes. In fact, the entire resolution packet uses the word "funding" an astonishing 77 times. The word "outcome" is used just four times.
There are predictable stances, including a resolution urging legislators to oppose further education choice, arguing that the state already has enough:
"WHEREAS, Idaho’s students have increasing access to a wide variety of school choice options in the state of Idaho, and parents are free to choose educational services through Idaho’s public education system"
The ISBA uses the word "voucher" 16 times in one resolution - the biggest straw man since the Wizard of Oz, considering no legislator has introduced a voucher program.
The organization uses misleading statistics on reform laws in other states, inaccurately claiming tax credits would pull funding from public schools, while contending that the programs have had "detrimental effects with little to no positive impact." Nearly 190 studies and the Peabody Journal of Education disagree.
The proposal goes so far as to defend the state’s controversial “Blaine Amendment.” The United States Supreme Court has labeled Blaine Amendments as “bigoted” for their blatant religious and racial discrimination.
ISBA is asking for lottery funds for school maintenance and wants legislators to triple the length of time local school districts can collect a levy, from two years to six, a proposal that would reduce accountability to taxpayers.
Perhaps more startling for taxpayers is the proposal for local option sales taxes instead of levies, an idea that would add more volatility to local school district budgets.
Members of the ISBA are further proposing allowing school districts to hire the spouses of governing board members and counting recess time as instructional hours in elementary schools, insisting that physical activity is part of a student’s learning. The recess resolution states: "Mathematics and reading are the academic topics that are most influenced by physical activity."
Based on the content of some of the resolutions, the ISBA itself may want to take a recess.