Rep. Rod Furniss, R-Rigby, and Rep. Jason Monks, R-Meridian, were involved in drafting HB 521 focused on replacing Idaho’s aging schools. Watch the hearing for the bill in the video above. | Courtesy photos

IDAHO FALLS – A bill aimed at replacing Idaho’s aging school buildings is on its way to the Senate after passing the Idaho House last week.

HB 521 passed 61-6 on Feb. 23. The six legislators who opposed it are all Boise democrats and their names are Rep. Steve Berch, Rep. Sue Chew, Rep. John Gannon, Rep. Chris Mathias, Rep. Lauren Necochea and Rep. Ilana Rubel. Watch the House committee hearing in the video above.

Rep. Rod Furniss, R-Rigby, who represents Jefferson, Fremont, Clark and Lemhi counties, helped the governor draft the initial legislation. He tells EastIdahoNews.com the bill will go before the Senate Commerce Committee Tuesday for a hearing before advancing to the Senate Floor.

“It will go to the governor’s office if it passes the Senate. There’s really no reason it won’t pass the Senate, unless they hold it hostage, which likely could happen. I was surprised this morning (Monday) to hear (the Senate) would hear it tomorrow (Tuesday),” Furniss says.

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During his State of the State Address, Gov. Brad Little introduced a 10-year, $2 billion plan to replace Idaho’s aging public school buildings. It’s a proposal he and his aides have determined is the largest investment in school facilities in state history.

HB 521 provides $125 million in ongoing sales tax revenue to the new School Modernization Facilities Fund, according to the bill’s statement of purpose. Under the bill, sales tax revenue directed to the fund will increase from 2.25% to 3.25%. Any existing lottery dividends will be redirected to the fund as well.

“This legislation reduces income taxes from 5.8% to 5.695%, allowing Idahoans to have more money to better support local bonds and levies related to school facilities,” the statement of purpose says.

Rep. Jason Monks, R-Meridian, is co-sponsoring the bill with Rep. Mike Moyle, R-Star, and Sen. Doug Ricks, R-Rexburg.

Early childhood educators advocate for state support

On a related note, Furniss and his fellow legislators in District 31, Rep. Jerald Raymond, R-Rigby, and Sen. Van Burtenshaw, R-Terreton, recently met with early learning educators in Fremont County.

The meeting was part of a statewide event called Early Learning Day, which was sponsored by the Idaho Association for the Education of Young Children. The purpose was to connect policymakers with educators about the benefits of early learning for pre-school aged children.

Rebekah Crawford, the specialist for Fremont Joint School District 215’s Early Learning Collaborative, was there to lobby for any legislation that supports early childhood education.

Aside from the district’s pre-school for children with developmental delays, Crawford says there’s only one licensed private pre-school in the entire county.

“One of our goals is just to support the current pre-school options. If we can encourage anyone else to open a pre-school or daycare, we’d love to do that. We work with Idaho Stars to help private daycares and pre-schools get licensed,” she says. “Eventually, we’d like the state to be able to provide public pre-school options for low-income families.”

Franklyn Tavarez, the Early Learning Collaborative’s program director and the principal at Teton Elementary, says there are currently 24 kindergarten students at Teton Elementary and about 22 incoming kindergartners for the 2024-25 school year. The number of pre-school aged kids has been fairly consistent over the last several years.

Tavarez was a kindergarten teacher for nine years and he says there are advantages children gain from attending pre-school, including enhanced cognitive ability.

“They’re less likely to repeat grades, less likely to need intervention in the K-12 system,” says Crawford. “Even though it initially seems like it’s more of a cost to invest in early childhood education … it will actually save the state money in k-12 education.”

Regardless of whether kids attend pre-school, both Tavarez and Crawford agree that parents play a crucial role in teaching kids at that age. A federal grant from the IDAEYC provides funds for the early learning collaborative to help parents have the resources they need to teach their young children.

Crawford, who applies for and helps distribute this grant annually, says Idaho is one of the only states where early childhood education is not funded on the state level.

The reason for that, according to Furniss, is because the current statute lists age five as the starting point for a child’s formal education. A bill in the very early stages aims to change that to age four so that state support can begin earlier.

Furniss doesn’t anticipate this bill being introduced anytime soon because there’s still a lot of details to work out, including what it’s going to cost and where the funds will come from.

“Then, of course, we’ve got to get the governor on board with it. Education has always been a priority for him, so I think this will be a natural for him,” Furniss says.

Crawford is pleased with Furniss’s willingness to expand the focus on education to include early childhood learning. She’s eager to hear how this bill progresses going forward.

The Early Learning Collaborative is hosting a Family Education Night at North Fremont High School on March 14. Other community events and resources are listed on its website.

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