Legislature Passes $664 Million For Schools Democrats Defeated On Effort To Add $10 Million Should Idaho Have A Revenue Surplus Next Year

The Idaho Legislature on Monday approved $664 million in state aid for public schools, the cornerstone of Republican Gov. Phil Batt’s tight 1996 budget.

The House sent the bill to Batt on a 48-20 vote after Democrats tried unsuccessfully to add $10 million should there be a surplus of state revenue when the new spending year begins July 1.

That effort was rejected on a 48-19 vote, and the House debated only a couple of minutes longer before giving the state aid package final approval.

The Senate passed the bill 22-13 last Wednesday after a similar effort by Democrats failed.

In both chambers, sponsors argued that anyone who voted for the governor’s $40 million property tax reduction bill earlier in the session had to vote for the Batt school plan because there was no more money available for that budget.

But seven Republicans ignored that. They were Paul Kjellander, Milt Erhart, Ruby Stone and Hod Pomeroy, all of Boise, and Gayle Wilde of McCall and Maynard Miller and James Lucas, both of Moscow.

Rep. Doug Jones, R-Filer, voted against both the property tax reduction and the school appropriation. Rep. Jim Christiansen, D-Aberdeen, was the only Democrat voting for the governor’s school budget. Idaho Falls Republicans Reed Hansen and Ralph Steele were absent.

Rep. Bob Geddes, R-Preston, maintained the 7 percent increase over the current school budget - $44.3 million - is an adequate amount considering the other pressures on the state budget.

“With the problems we have around the state with drugs, juvenile delinquency and learning needs, there is not enough money to take care of it all at once,” Geddes said. “We must do the best we can do.”

Budget writers squeezed as much as possible from all other state budgets to provide more money for schools, he argued, although the Batt total was the lowest of any considered this session.

Republican State Schools Superintendent Anne Fox called the Batt proposal devastating when it was outlined nearly two months ago, warning that it would cause school districts to seek higher property taxes to maintain services. But now she is calling the governor’s proposal an adequate budget that will put Idaho public schools back on to basics.

Rep. Ken Robison, D-Boise, led an effort to beef up the aid package with any surplus cash this summer. He wanted to put an extra $5 million into basic school funding, with no restrictions, and $5 million for school construction, with the expenditure based on enrollment.