[Vision2020] Otter Plan Steers Money to Roads, Not Schools

[Tom Hansen]

"Otter called for the school cuts along with keeping in reserve about half 
the stimulus money Idaho will receive for schools, plus the state’s $114 
million education reserve fund, as a hedge against further economic 
downturns.

 . .

House Minority Leader John Rusche, D-Lewiston, offered this analogy: 'If 
you have a sick family member and money in the bank, to say, 'Well, don’t 
take care of the sick family member, let’s save the money in case they get 
sicker' – that just doesn’t make sense to us.'"
 
Courtesy of today's (March 13, 2009)

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Otter plan steers money to roads, not schools

BOISE – Gov. Butch Otter’s plan to boost road spending three different 
ways but cut education sent Idaho lawmakers reeling Thursday, with some 
saying the governor’s right and others calling for “middle ground.”

“I applaud the governor in his desire to protect the infrastructure of the 
state – that’s important. But the infrastructure of the state is not just 
roads – it’s corrections, it’s state police, it’s education,” said state 
Senate Finance Chairman Dean Cameron, R-Rupert. “We can’t afford to let 
that infrastructure slide. We only get a chance once to educate a child in 
the first grade or to teach ’em to read. If we fail in that 
infrastructure, it’ll be much more painful … than in roads.”

Otter detailed his plans for spending more than $1.2 billion in federal 
economic stimulus money Thursday and sent his budget chief, Wayne Hammon, 
to present the plan to lawmakers.

Sen. Nicole LeFavour, D-Boise, told Hammon, “You want to increase taxes 
for roads, spend stimulus for roads, borrow for roads and cut education. … 
I’m truly trying to understand … (why the governor would want) to have 
education suffer that much.”

Hammon responded, “Nobody likes cutting budgets. The governor believes 
that fixing our infrastructure is an immediate need, that we must do 
something.”

Schools are being protected from cuts in the current year, Hammon said; 
they’ll experience cuts next year like all other state agencies.

In a news conference Thursday, Otter defended his plan, which calls for 
going beyond the unprecedented $62 million in cuts to public schools next 
year outlined by state Superintendent Tom Luna, to also trim another $47 
million by including schools in a statewide, 5 percent cut in personnel 
funding.

“You’ve got to remember, 87 percent of school costs are personnel,” the 
governor said. “It’s just, you’ve got to go where the money is.”

Sen. Joyce Broadsword, R-Sagle, said the governor’s right. “They are a 
part of the economy. They need to understand that everybody needs to share 
in that burden,” she said, adding that her local school officials have 
informed her they’re ready to do their part.

State Rep. George Eskridge, R-Dover, said the governor’s going in “the 
right direction.” He said, “I’m really concerned about the economy – every 
morning all I hear is bad news. Education is 50 percent of our budget and 
I don’t see any way to get out of this without doing that.”

Otter called for the school cuts along with keeping in reserve about half 
the stimulus money Idaho will receive for schools, plus the state’s $114 
million education reserve fund, as a hedge against further economic 
downturns.

Legislative Democrats objected to the magnitude of education cuts compared 
to the reserves the state would hold.

House Minority Leader John Rusche, D-Lewiston, offered this analogy: “If 
you have a sick family member and money in the bank, to say, ‘Well, don’t 
take care of the sick family member, let’s save the money in case they get 
sicker’ – that just doesn’t make sense to us.”

Cameron, who chairs the Legislature’s joint budget committee, said, “My 
preference isn’t to hit education that hard, but the committee will have 
to decide where it goes.” He predicted, “We’ll find middle ground.”

Otter also flatly rejected a proposal from members of the House GOP 
leadership to use a big chunk of the economic stimulus money for corporate 
tax cuts.

“Listen, they’ve got a lot of different ideas over there,” Otter said. “I 
didn’t see it putting jobs on the street, I didn’t see it putting people 
to work.” He said if he were in business now and he got a tax break, “I’m 
gonna put it in my pocket.” That doesn’t create jobs, he said, and the 
role of the stimulus is to “stimulate the economy right now.”

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Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho
 
Join us at The First Annual Intolerista Wingding, April 17th, featuring 
Roy Zimmerman and Jeanne McHale.  For details go to . . .

http://www.MoscowCares.com/Wingding
 
Seeya
there.

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