Education funding at center of Republican primary for House seat representing Cd’A
A former Coeur d’Alene School District board chair and activist behind the effort to protect North Idaho College accreditation is running against incumbent Rep. Elaine Price to represent the Lake City in the Idaho Legislature.
Christa Hazel said she is running for the Idaho House of Representatives seat B in the 4th Legislative District seat to better reflect Coeur d’Alene’s values like public and higher education.
“I believe the community needs a voice in Boise that actually reflects the Coeur d’Alene community values,” Hazel said. “And Coeur d’Alene consistently shows up for public schools, North Idaho College.”
While Hazel is a former precinct committeeman for the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee, the official local GOP has endorsed Price. Hazel is a founding member of the North Idaho Republicans, a more moderate group that advocates for “traditional” conservative values.
Price did not respond to requests for an interview. Her website, Elaine4CDA.com, still referred to the 2024 primary as of last week. For that election, she listed her priorities as limiting the powers of the executive branch, lowering taxes and government spending, and “protecting children from grooming and sexualization” – specifically holding schools and libraries accountable for “protecting children from harmful content.”
In a KCRCC questionnaire, Price said she is running for re-election this year “to speak for those in North Idaho who have strong conservative beliefs who do not feel they are represented in the Capitol. I want to protect the children of Idaho through policies that establish the fundamental right of parents to raise their children.”
Price answered that she is both fiscally and socially conservative and describes herself as “a conservative Christian.”
She noted a few disagreements with the Republican platform.
“I would like to see a stronger stance on not taking federal funds and state sovereignty,” Price wrote. “I also do not agree with no term limits. I believe term limits could correct some of the government overreach via cronyism we are dealing with today.”
However, Price listed no exceptions to her support of the Idaho GOP platform when signing the “2026 Integrity in Affiliation” form for the Idaho GOP.
Hazel noted that the platform specifically does “not support using taxpayer funding for programs beyond high school.”
Price has voted against funding for career-technical education programs that could benefit NIC.
As a member of the Joint-Finance Appropriations Committee she led efforts to cut funding at the state’s four-year universities last year and a $13.5 million cut this session to the Idaho Digital Learning Alliance, the state’s virtual learning platform.
Hazel said workforce education is part of the Trump agenda.
Hazel is the co-founder of Save NIC, which publicized concerns about NIC’s governance during the accreditation crisis, and is now a political action committee. She said the college is both a beloved institution and an economic engine.
“We fought hard to save it,” she said. “I want to keep protecting it in Boise.”
Hazel said the Coeur d’Alene electorate’s record shows strong support for public education by passing school levies and electing five NIC trustees endorsed by the North Idaho Republicans.
“There is a disconnect in what our community consistently asks for in elections versus how Elaine is voting in Boise,” Hazel said.
The recent cuts to the Idaho Digital Learning Alliance will reduce the number of course offerings for K-12 students in Coeur d’Alene. The learning alliance is a valuable resource, Hazel said, not only for public schools but also for private, charter and home schools, as well as dual enrollment for college credit and students in juvenile detention.
At least two mailers sent to Coeur d’Alene residents praised Price’s support of private school vouchers and President Donald Trump’s school choice agenda. The mailers were paid for by the American Federation for Children Inc., a Dallas-based organization that advocates for vouchers and school choice.
“I support school choice. I always have,” Hazel said. “But her school choice seems to be one choice only and it’s to the detriment of all the other choices parents make in our community.”
Hazel said she is concerned about the amount of out-of-state influence on the campaign.
Price is among a number of legislators who have signed a pledge by the Citizens Alliance of Idaho to uphold 10 policy positions it says are inspired by the U.S. and Idaho constitutions. The pledge includes things like support for medical and education freedom.
Despite the name, the Citizens Alliance of Idaho PAC is funded by a larger national organization based in Fairfax, Virginia.
Citizens Alliance Political Action Committee Inc. has contributed $450,000 this year to the Idaho PAC, according to Idaho Sunshine reports and an investigation by Idaho Education News. The Idaho PAC reported spending $126,000 in support of legislative races so far this year, including $2,371 for Price.
“When you pledge that kind of allegiance to an out of state funded group, it makes you question who is my opponent really representing?” Hazel said. “Is she representing her community? It doesn’t appear so. And if outside groups are spending so much money to thank her or promote her, that kind of underscores the point.”
The Citizens Alliance of Idaho says, “Signing The Pledge is a sign of loyalty to these values, not a pledge of loyalty to an organization or any special interests. If anything, the only special interests represented by the Pledge are the citizens of Idaho.”
Finally, Hazel also wants to regulate synthetic kratom, an uncontrolled substance sold at gas stations near Coeur d’Alene schools.
“The way it stands in Idaho is you basically have to trust a retailer is going to have the good sense not to sell to kids,” Hazel said. “But I don’t have that trust.”
Natural kratom leaf may have some benefits for veterans and should be a larger discussion in the legislature. But synthetic kratom is much more potent and dangerous.
“In my mind I struggle with whether it should be available at all,” Hazel said. “Many states have outlawed it. But at a minimum you should be 21 or older.”