Parents Talk Schools With Legislators Lawmakers Bipartisan On One Point: Future Building Funds

Dollars and discipline were the hot topics Saturday, when seven North Idaho legislators assembled in Sorensen Elementary gymnasium.

The occasion was a forum sponsored by the school’s Parent Teacher Organization. It was attended by more than 60 people. Their written questions for the lawmakers focused on how much Idaho is spending on schools, and what taxpayers are getting for their money.

There was applause when Rep. Wayne Meyer said: “The business community wants people who know how to read, know how to add and can communicate. I don’t think we’re getting a good product for the dollar put out.”

As with the entire Legislature, Republicans dominated Saturday’s forum. They were Reps. Meyer, Jeff Alltus and Don Pischner; and Sens. Clyde Boatright and Gordon Crow.

The Democrats on hand were Sens. Mary Lou Reed and Marvin Vandenberg.

All five Republicans were voted into office last fall. They happily pointed to the bill, signed this week by Gov. Phil Batt, providing $40 million in property tax relief.

Meyer insisted that the cut would not hurt education. In fact, he said, Batt’s proposed $664 million education budget would increase public school funding by 8 percent.

Reed said homeowners will save only $40 a year in property taxes. She suggested that parents donate that to their schools, which are among the most poorly funded in the country.

There was bipartisan agreement on one point: Both Reed and Crowe said lawmakers may soon loosen state purse strings in order to replace dilapidated school buildings.

“The Legislature is far more aware of the need for matching (construction) funds,” said Reed. “If you folks want it, you need to keep the pressure on.”

Among other issues discussed Saturday:

Discipline. Pischner, a member of the House education committee, spoke with enthusiasm about Lincoln Elementary School in Nampa.

Legislators are buzzing about the high test scores being racked up by students in that low-income school, where children aren’t allowed to talk in the hallways and the motto equates hard work with success.

“I wasn’t a good student,” Pischner confessed. “A little bit of discipline helped me a lot.”

Some panelists said discipline can include spanking.

“I got hacked in school,” said Meyer. “It didn’t hurt me.”< Federal funds. Pischner said he was astounded to learn that “Goals 2000,” a federal grant program, is offering $450,000 to the state with no strings attached.

School Superintendent Anne Fox initially opposed accepting the money, but is reconsidering. Reed applauded the change.

“Goals 2000 will go hand-in-hand with the reform measures that have been building for the last three to four years in Idaho,” she said.

Vouchers. Unlike the Democrats, the Republican legislators endorsed the idea of giving parents money that they could spend to put their children in private schools.

But Alltus cautioned that issuing vouchers would require an amendment to the state Constitution, which prohibits spending tax money on “sectarian” schools.

Home schooling. One bill being considered would allow students taught at home, or in private schools, to participate in public school classroom or extra-curricular activities.

Most objections to the bill have been overcome, Meyer said. Both he and Pischner lamented that those concerned about the bill have said little about academics. Instead, they’ve focused on athletics - primarily, the question of whether schools would be able to unfairly recruit students for their teams.