What's Missing in Idaho School Reform
As the 2015 Idaho Legislature races to reform public education with the "Career Ladder" and the money needed to jump start it, there's an important, no critical, element missing in the state's reform agenda.
What is it?
I'll call it "Equity Reform".
What does that mean?
It means real reform must address and solve disparate public school funding among school districts. As it stands, quality education is based on where the student lives, not some "Career Ladder" or Common Core standards or Smarter Balanced Praticed and Training test or anyother concocted "Silver Bullet" that's been designed by the Governor's Task Force, legislators, or education association.
The disparity that exists - the resource gap - between "affulent districts" like Boise and West Ada and "poor districts" like Richfield and Mullan is growing. By huge margins. The "affulent districts" have strong voter support for annual "supplemental tax levies" that bring millions to the districts for technology, personnel, and instructional goodies. The "poor districts" on the other hand cannot regularly pass "supplemental tax levies" and so they languish as the "have nots".
The Idaho Constitution, Article IX, Section 1, states:
Section 1. LEGISLATURE TO ESTABLISH SYSTEM OF FREE SCHOOLS. The stability of a republican form of government depending mainly upon the intelligence of the people, 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.
Yet, because there has been no "Equity Reform", Idaho's public schools are NOT general, unifrom, thorough, or FREE.
In fact, most school districts now charge fees to parents and students - fees to register for school, to take classes, to participate in sports and activities. Fees that are illegal under the Idaho Constitution.
If the "Career Ladder" passes, there will be many smiles and much back slapping and congratulatory speeches made by the Governor, superintendents, legislators, and the rich district school boards.
It will all be empty for the "have not districts" who can only hope that someday those same happy people will address "Equity Reform". Only then can EVERY Idaho child look forward to a quality education.
