It's time to speak up

Idaho is seeing the fallout of budget cuts to education. Classrooms are more crowded, with fewer aides. School districts are holding more supplemental levy elections. Kids have longer bus rides. School librarians can't buy books. Parents are paying more for activities. Teachers are digging deep into their own pockets to buy supplies for their students, even as their own salaries have been cut or frozen. Record numbers of teachers retired in 2010 – and many will not be replaced.

When they made their historic $128 million cuts to K-12 education, Idaho lawmakers had other options, including closing sales tax exemptions; hiring more auditors to collect all the taxes already due to the state; putting a penny-a-can tax on soda pop; or dedicating a 1-cent sales tax increase to public education, among other ideas.

The Idaho Constitution mandates that our Legislature ensure a "uniform and thorough system of public education." Unfortunately, our leaders' decisions have left our state with a patchwork of barely-have, have-less, and have-not districts – and their actions have shifted taxes to local citizens. It's time for concerned parents, grandparents, small business owners, and community leaders to stand up and speak out for sustainable public education funding. It's time to be sure that every Idaho child has a great neighborhood school. Raise Your Hand now and help make it happen!