Keough’s claims questioned

As someone who follows our Idaho politics, I’m always interested in what our legislators have to say. Sen. Shawn Keough’s recent report on the first week of the legislative session raised some questions for me regarding some of her claims now and in the past.

A couple of weeks ago, she endorsed Gov. Butch Otter’s substantial 7.9 percent increase next year in state funding for K-12 schools (plus additional generous funding for universities and professional-technical education). She admits that this is a high amount but states that it will “barely refill the cuts from our economic downturn.”

Well, just two years ago, at the end of that legislative session, she proudly reported that “we have approved the best public schools budget since 2008,” (a) budget (which) “reverses $35 million in cuts that school districts, and local property tax payers, absorbed during the economic downturn of the last decade and provides our schools with a $66 million raise.”

As a taxpayer, I’m wondering just how many times she plans to restore the cuts from the economic downturn? It seems, based on her own statement, that the job was done in 2014. Now we’re heaping on more and calling it “barely refilling cuts?”

I’m beginning to understand why she is known as the biggest spender of our tax money in Boise.

Gary Domke

Priest River