More debate in the House…

The debate is back on in the House. So far, a number of Democrats have spoken out against HB 256; a few Republicans have voiced doubts as well. “I just can’t vote for a bill that singles out a single school district to take the brunt,” said Rep. Lynn Luker, R-Boise, whose local school district stands to lose $1.5 million next year under the bill. Rep. Ken Andrus, R-Lava Hot Springs, said, “I understand we have to do something - we have to make cuts.” But he said his local school district tells him it’ll lose $200,000, and very little of that is from field trips. “We would be willing to give up field trips, but this will hurt us badly,” he said. Rep. JoAn Wood, R-Rigby, spoke in favor of the bill, saying the state should never have funded busing for field trips. “This is an opportunity we have to right something that was never intended in the first place,” she said.