What I Would Have Done

Governor Otter’s decision to cut education funding by 7.5 percent or $128 million ignored this critical responsibility of state government.  Governor Otter told us that we had no choice.  He was wrong.  We always have choices.  There were two good choices that I would have made to keep our K-12 education budget whole.  First, four evidence-based projections said we’ll realize more than $80 million in increased revenue next year.  Governor Otter ignored these projections.  I would have budgeted on evidence, not on gloom.  Second, the Tax Commission reported that if they were given additional staff they could net $60 million in increased revenue by going after tax deadbeats.  Governor Otter chose to cut Tax Commission staff.  With this $140 million in available revenue, I would have kept education whole.

What I Will Do: The Strategy for Improving K-12 Education

Otter’s poor decision aside, the discussion about improving Idaho’s education system gets mired in partisan debate.  I hear Democrats and moderate Republicans argue that we need to invest more in education.  I hear conservative Republicans argue that just throwing more money into education doesn’t guarantee better results.  We’re having the wrong debate.

Instead of arguing about overall funding levels for education, we should look at the most strategic, cost-effective investments we can make.  As governor, I would lead this discussion in two parts.  First, we should take a hard look at the investments we’re currently making in education.  Are they giving us the return they should?  Those that aren’t need to be eliminated.  Second, we should review the investments that we could be making.  What investments have proven to be cost effective here or elsewhere that would be worth making in Idaho?

Quantifying the value of each investment we make or could make in education will allow us to get beyond the ineffective partisan debate about overall funding levels.  It would also focus our attention on the reality that, like all investments, investments in K-12 education have costs and benefits.  We can quantify these.  First, we can quantify the costs of ineffective investment in order to ensure that no Idaho taxpayer watches the state government waste their money.  Second, we can quantify the costs of underinvestment.  If we spend too little on K-12 education, we end up spending much, much more on prisons and health & welfare.  Let’s not grow government by skimping on our kids’ education.

How We’ll Get it Done

To cut through the rancor of the partisan debate, we’ll have to engage our government in the way our founders intended.  The founders warned us against the “problem of faction”—what we, today, would call political parties or special interests.  They knew that in order to find the best solutions to our problems, we would need to work together across the lines that tend to divide us.

That’s what I’ve done for the last five years.  I’ve brought together everyday Idahoans—Republicans, Democrats, and independents—to think about tough problems and offer practical solutions.  What’s remarkable is that we’ve succeeded.  We’ve demonstrated that our system of government works remarkably well when you engage it the way our founding fathers intended.

As a governor in partnership with everyday Idahoans—Republicans, Democrats, and independents—I will work to identify the most cost-effective, strategic investments we can make in K-12 education.  As a result, we’ll realize the smartest level of overall investment.  The principle is simple: If the governor partners with everyday Idahoans, then together we can make wise decisions about what’s in our best interests and overcome the self-serving power of political parties and special interests.

Here’s what that will look like.  First, I’ll gather together the experts who can give us the best available information on the investments we’re currently making in K-12 education as well as the most strategic and cost-effective investments that we could be making.  I’ll work with these experts to quantify the cost that each investment would impose and the benefit that each would bring.  I’ll work with them to give their ideas full and fair expression—even when they disagree—in a policy brief.  Can we really capture the complexities of the issue?  Sure.  Can we put it into language that everyday Idahoans understand?  Sure.  I’ve done it for five years.

Second, I’ll invite thousands of Idahoans, randomly selected from the registered voter list, to read the brief and give their opinion on which investments in K-12 education we should be making.  Will everyday Idahoans take the time?  They will.  When the governor says, “Help me decide which investments we should make in K-12 education in order to prepare our kids to compete in tomorrow’s economy and in order to minimize waste and unnecessary spending on prisons and health & welfare,” Idahoans will weigh in.

Third, I’ll introduce legislation that proposes to make the strategic, cost-effective investments for which everyday Idahoans expressed broad support.

Fourth, I’ll partner with the thousands of everyday Idahoans whose good judgment formed the basis of the bill and with every other concerned Idahoan to see that bill through the legislative process.  This is where our partnership is so important.  A governor in partnership with thousands of informed and activated Idahoans can cut through the partisan debate to get real results.

When everyday Idahoans are informed and mobilized, we can prevail.  As president of The Common Interest, I’ve successfully led efforts to reduce property taxes, protect private property rights, and ensure open government.  A governor, in partnership with everyday Idahoans, can find and champion the most strategic and cost-effective level of investing in education.  Together we can get it done.