by Ju Hyun Son (Jacy)
On Jan. 9, 2022, Governor Brad Little announced his 2023 State of State and Budget Address.
Little promised to continue investing in public schools, strengthen Idahoan’s workplace, provide more tax relief, and promote safe communities by putting “Idaho first.” Little mentioned how the last couple of years have been unprecedented, and the reason the Ida- ho were able to stay the course is because Idaho was put first, which he strongly encouraged that this should continue.
Currently, Idaho state is approx- imately the first in every economic strength; budget stability and good government. Gov. Little is pushing Idaho to not fall back.
Gov. Little recognized a high responsibility and the importance of education, which was one of the most popular votes from the people of Idaho. Therefore, the government has put down $330 million for public schools, and $80 million for in-demand career training as the single largest ongoing investment ever into Idaho education.
Tax relief and education investment has been passed in every single county, every city, and every legislative district for support.Furthermore, Gov. Little noted, “Idahoans like being first in economic momentum, revenue growth, job growth, responsible government, and cutting red tape.
Idahoans like being a top ten state for economic outlook and strong fiscal policy. Idahoans like a flourishing economy, historic tax relief, and record education investments.”
Gov. Little believes that education can better the economy and help, prepare, and strive for all the generations to come.
Starting next year, a scholarship of $8,500 will be given to those who are graduating high school students in Idaho to attend local university and community college, including career technical or workforce training programs of their choice.
This “Idaho Launch” will be the single largest investment in career technical and workforce education in history, says the governor.
In addition, student body presidents at College of Western Idaho, Boise State University, LC State, and University of Idaho expressed how important it is to keep students in the state for the future of Idaho, and with the state’s scholarship, they have that chance.
Generally speaking, Idaho is the first in the nation for return on investment for education spending, the third in the nation for education freedom, and one of the few states that has lowest restrictions on the parents who wish to send their children to the school of their choice.
Gov. Little affirmed that education starts from home, and thus giving the parents as the primary decision makers, the Empowering Parents grant. This grant will allow the parents to be in charge of their children’s education, and it serves tens of thousands already.
Gov. Little’s proposed, “Idaho First” plan will raise salaries of all the teachers in this state to ensure that the students are receiving all the support they need. The average Idaho teacher would receive a $6,500 pay raise. The state has given back in the last three years to date: about $2.7 billion to the Idaho citizens and businesses.
“No other state in the country has given more tax relief per capita than Idaho” Gov. Little said. The ongoing tax burden has been cut by more than $650 million. Nearly half billion dollars were spent on the local roads, bridges, and airports in 2022.
There was a backlog of deficient bridges that strained the local government for years to repair, and recently they fixed it without raising any extra taxes. Idaho First is also adding a 10 percent raise to the law enforcement officers. This means for an average officer would be an extra $6,000 raise.
This new campaign is called, “All it Takes,” and more information can be found at FentanylTakesAll.org.
