Bill Would Send $6 Million In Lottery Profits To Schools

A proposal to fund school construction from state coffers was dumped Thursday in favor of a bill diverting $6 million in lottery proceeds to schools.

The lottery money would start a matching fund, said Rep. Ron Black, R-Twin Falls, chairman of the House Education Committee.

The state would match 20 percent of funds raised by school district bond levies. But the matching money wouldn’t apply to bonds passed before July 1.

Rep. Elaine Hofman, D-Pocatello, supported the legislation as the best of the choices given the committee. “It’s about as pure as we’re going to get. It’s an opportunity to leverage dollars and maximize our money.”

Now the full House will vote on it.

House Speaker Mike Simpson, R-Blackfoot, proposed the other bill, which aimed to put up about $15 million a year in state funds to match 20 percent of bond issue money.

But Simpson acknowledged it would be difficult coming up with that kind of money when the budget is tight and North Idaho flood repairs are urgently needed.

Also on Thursday, the House Revenue and Taxation Committee killed a proposal from state Superintendent of Schools Anne Fox to raise Idaho’s sales tax by half a cent to generate $57 million a year for school construction.

Idaho is the only state in the nation that requires a two-thirds vote to pass a school construction bond and provides no state money, requiring local property taxpayers to foot the entire bill.

Tax committee members said it was too late in the session for Fox’s proposal to be considered.

“We need to be realistic and not get anybody’s hopes up,” said Rep. Celia Gould, R-Buhl.

, DataTimes The following fields overflowed: BYLINE = Lindsay Woodcock Staff writer Staff writer Betsy Z. Russell contributed to this report.