Gov. Brad Little and Idaho lawmakers had an opportunity to deliver something bold for taxpayers struggling with record-high inflation. 

They didn’t. And Idahoans are worse off for it. 

The governor, along with House and Senate leadership, again locked down the legislative process to deliver meager ongoing income tax relief. Little did nothing to address the property tax crisis, though Idahoans have been begging for relief for years. 

And, despite Little’s campaign pledge to repeal the state’s sales tax on groceries, that tax remains firmly in place while Idahoans’ budgets buckle under the weight of skyrocketing food prices. 

Most bothersome is the new cash infusion for Idaho’s poorly run government schools. Schools continue to embrace the social justice agenda, aided by President Joe Biden’s administration. Students are force-fed left-wing dogma, and lawmakers continue to turn a blind eye to the problem. Little and lawmakers could have used this session to turn the tide in government schools, but instead they decided to throw more cash into these leftist indoctrination camps. 

Beyond that, test scores show that even the most well-funded districts in the state can’t get all students up to grade level in reading, writing, or math. 

Without a serious course correction in education, Idaho students will continue to leave high school ill-prepared for the current job market. It’s a slow-moving disaster of the Legislature’s own making. 

The fight for this needed course correction continues. Dozens of new legislators will take their seats in the next Legislature and fight tooth and nail to find solutions that work to improve outcomes. We hope these  lawmakers won’t simply throw good money after bad, but will stand up to Education Inc. and empower families with real choice, and real options. 

We look forward to partnering with them to deliver the bold education reform that Idaho families are crying out for. They deserve it, and it’s incumbent on the Idaho Legislature to deliver next year.