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Eye On Boise

Public school budget clears House on series of overwhelmingly positive votes, with just handful of dissenters

Domed ceiling over the Idaho House chamber (Betsy Z. Russell)
Domed ceiling over the Idaho House chamber (Betsy Z. Russell)

All seven of the pieces of the public school budget for next year passed the House this morning on overwhelmingly positive votes, with absolutely no negative debate. “There have been other years where these bills have taken longer,” commented House Speaker Scott Bedke, R-Oakley.

Each of the seven bills got between three and eight “no” votes; the only House member to vote against all seven was Rep. Vito Barbieri, R-Dalton Gardens, who didn’t say why.

Rep. Wendy Horman, R-Idaho Falls, told the House that taken together, the bills show an overall 6.8 percent increase in state funding for schools next year, but several additional bills that are on the way will boost that up to a 7.4 percent increase.

Rep. John Rusche, D-Lewiston, said, “I congratulate the good lady and JFAC on doing their best for the public school system in the state of Idaho. I will be supporting this budget, but I ask you to remember a few things as we go forward. There are still lots of schools that can only afford four-day school weeks. There are lots of schools that have buildings that are greatly in need of repair. And there are lots and lots of override levies in our school districts just to keep the doors open and the lights on. I will support this, I think it sincerely does make progress, but hopefully we are remembering that progress isn’t completion of the goal.”

Here are the seven bills and the votes:

HB 617: The administrators division of the school budget. It passed 62-6, with the six “no” votes coming from Reps. Barbieri, Nate, McMillan, Nielsen, Scott and Sims.

HB 618: The teachers division of the school budget. It passed 64-4, with “no” votes from Reps. Batt, Barbieri, McMillan and Scott.

HB 619: The operations division of the school budget, which includes restoring operational funds to school districts back up to 2009 levels on a per-classroom basis. It passed 66-4, with “no” votes from Reps. Barbieri, Dixon, Sims and McMillan.

HB 620: The children’s programs division of the budget. It passed 67-3, with just Reps. Barbieri, Sims and McMillan objecting.

HB 621: The facilities division of the budget. It passed 64-3, with Reps. Barbieri, Nate and Dixon dissenting.

HB 622: The division of the public school budget that covers services for the deaf and blind. It received the most “no” votes, passing 59-8. Those objecting were Reps. Batt, Barbieri, Dixon, Harris, McMillan, Moyle, Nate and Trujillo.

HB 623: The central services division of the public school budget. It passed 62-5, with “no” votes from Reps. Barbieri, Nate, McMillan, Scott and Sims.

The bills still need Senate passage and the governor’s signature to become law, but budget bills rarely change once they’re set by the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee.



Betsy Z. Russell
Betsy Z. Russell joined The Spokesman-Review in 1991. She currently is a reporter in the Boise Bureau covering Idaho state government and politics, and other news from Idaho's state capital.

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