School voucher promoters smell blood in the water

Those promoting schemes to use Idaho taxpayer money to pay for private and religious schooling appear to be gearing up for a decisive push in the 2025 legislative session. A variety of out-of-state, dark-money groups helped to defeat several home-grown Idaho legislators who were dedicated to improving Idaho’s public schools. Those defeats may have frightened Idaho’s Governor and Superintendent of Schools to buy into the schemers’ plans to raid the Idaho treasury to benefit private and religious schools. 

Several extremist groups poured about $1.5 million into the closed GOP primary this year, targeting reasonable legislators who opposed using tax revenues for private and religious schooling. Several outstanding legislators who stood up for public education were defeated in nasty, truth-deprived campaigns. With the apparent defeat of about 6 opponents of voucher programs, those wanting to saddle taxpayers with the cost of private education seem to be smelling blood in the water on the issue. 

One young op-ed writer has suggested that debate over school vouchers was the cause of those defeats, saying that “voters rewarded pro-school choice candidates.” He specifically pointed to the defeat of House Education Committee chair Julie Yamamoto of Caldwell. There was no principled debate in her election contest. Yamamoto was defeated by a constant drumbeat of falsehoods and negative claims over the course of a year. Nasty pamphlets distributed by paid door-knockers falsely claimed Yamamoto supported porn in school libraries. Additionally, her opponent was an Idaho Freedom Foundation (IFF) darling and we all know the IFF wants to do away with public schools. 

The other public school supporters were defeated by scurrilous campaigns and also by the fact that the closed GOP primary strongly favors the most extreme candidates. 

Speaking of the IFF, one of its go-to favorites, Branden Durst, published an op-ed supporting almost every variety of taxpayer-funded private and religious schooling. We may remember how Durst almost destroyed the West Bonner County School District last year. The school patrons rose up and tossed him out. 

Chris Cargill, the head of the IFF’s sister group, the Mountain States Policy Center (MSPC), was also out with an op-ed touting private education. It should be noted that both organizations are part of the far-right State Policy Network, which is funded by dark money interests throughout the country. MSPC is part of the infamous Project 2025, which Donald Trump says is too radical for him. 

Cargill claims that it is just fine under the Idaho Constitution to force taxpayers to fund private and religious schools. He is dead wrong. The Idaho Constitution specifically prohibits state money from being used to support religious education. The U.S. Supreme Court has provided school voucher proponents with a backdoor around the prohibition, but the backdoor only works if a government decides to provide program support for private schools generally.  

According to Chief Justice John Roberts: “A State need not subsidize private education. But once a State decides to do so, it cannot disqualify some private schools solely because they are religious.” So, a state can refuse to spend taxpayer money on religious schooling by simply refusing to subsidize any private schools. Idaho lawmakers are well aware of that fact and will assuredly face a lawsuit in court if they try to use the backdoor approach. 

Some of our state officials appear to have been spooked by the defeat of several voucher opponents and have weakened their stance against throwing public funds into private schools. Debbie Chritchfield, Idaho’s Superintendent of Public Instruction, has hinted that she and Governor Little are working on a voucher plan. The Governor has said he would only support a plan that “does not draw resources away from public schools.” No such plan has ever been invented so, unless he breaks his word, he will oppose the pipe dream of the voucher cheerleaders. 

Idahoans know that public schools are the heart and soul of most communities in the state. I don’t believe they will buy the voucher schemes being hyped by IFF, MSPC and Project 2025, but that is a story for another time. 

Jim Jones is a Vietnam combat veteran who served 8 years as Idaho Attorney General (1983-1991) and 12 years as a Justice on the Idaho Supreme Court (2005-2017). His columns are collected at JJCommonTater.com.