Reclaim Idaho gathers signatures in Kellogg

KELLOGG — The grassroots organization Reclaim Idaho made a stop in the Silver Valley over the weekend as they used two big events to grab some signatures in their crusade to better fund education.

According to Judy Lewis, one of Reclaim Idaho’s local volunteers who was out at the Silver Hoops 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament and the West Shoshone County Firefighters Local 2034 fundraiser, gathering signatures is the bread and butter to a group such as Reclaim Idaho.

The current signature drive for the Quality Education Act, where the hope is that if they collect enough signatures by May 1, 2022, a ballot initiative will be voted on later that year that would invest more than $300 million annually in Idaho’s K-12 education system.

The hope would be that they would be adding roughly $1,000 per student in Idaho’s schools.

Lewis was optimistic from her efforts over the weekend and also what she was hearing from the people that she was interacting with.

“Saturday we were very successful finding many residents eager to do something to help Idaho kids,” Lewis said. “Everyone we talked to already knew that the Idaho state government underfunds Idaho schools. Idaho is in last place from all 50 states in funding Idaho public schools in the amount per student. Even Puerto Rico is better than Idaho is.”

While many people see a number like $300 million and immediately wonder where that money is coming from, according to Reclaim Idaho’s FAQ sheet, there would be no tax increases to anyone who makes less than $250,000 per year, and would feature a raise of less than 5% for those who make over that amount.

The hope is that the initiative will return the 8% corporate tax rate that existed in Idaho from 1987 until 2000.

The money would go to the schools as needed where they would decide how it gets spent.

Some of the things Reclaim has emphasized during their signature campaign are teacher hiring and retention, full-time kindergarten, and the creation and accessibility of career-technical education fields (particularly in rural areas) that would help students have some idea on a career path right out of high school.

The money is specifically not allowed to go toward administrator salaries — a common concern among voters.

According to Reclaim Idaho, teacher salaries dropped by an average of $900 during 2020, which has resulted in 10% of educators leaving the classroom to pursue other career opportunities.

Reclaim Idaho is the same group that got Medicaid Expansion on the ballot and passed in 2018.

For more information, please email info@reclaimidaho.org, or by visiting www.reclaimidaho.org.