BOISE, Idaho — Idaho's special session is in the books; Governor Little signed House Bill One shortly after it passed the legislature Thursday evening. A major component of House Bill One is an investment of over $400 million into Idaho education.
The timing of the special session is interesting, however. It comes weeks after Reclaim Idaho’s Quality Education Initiative qualified for a vote on the November ballot, which is aimed at raising more money for public education by taxing the wealthiest Idahoans.
“We are regrouping and figuring out what the next steps are for the proposition,” said Luke Mayville, Co-Founder of Reclaim Idaho.
Mayville says it is clear to Reclaim Idaho that House Bill One was in direct response to their campaign.
“It is very clear that the legislation that passed yesterday was designed to undermine the Quality Education Act, which we are figuring out the best path forward. But regardless of what happens in the coming days, we're going to be spending a lot of our time celebrating,” Mayville said.
Still, the result of House Bill One sending millions to public education is something Reclaim Idaho is more than happy to see.
“$410 million for public schools is a big win, both for the state of Idaho and for the thousands of citizens and volunteers and supporters who work to put the Quality Education Act on the ballot,” Mayville said. “None of this would have been possible without the hard work of countless volunteers across the state who knocked on doors over the past year and collected signatures that, along the way built a whole lot of support for large-scale investments in public schools.”
Mayville believes the success Reclaim Idaho has seen with its Medicaid and education campaigns says a lot about Idahoans.
“The success we've had really speaks to the promise of these issues that can bring people together, issues like health care and public schools. Even though the people of Idaho disagree on a whole lot of things, they can really come together around these bread and butter issues, these issues that directly impact the quality of life of the majority of the population,” Mayville said.
So, where does Reclaim Idaho go from here?
“Now we have to determine if there is any path forward for Proposition one and what our next steps will be as an organization in the coming months. But regardless of what happens, the immediate next step is for us to go out in the communities, hold a whole lot of events where the main goal is just to celebrate how far we've come and to,” Mayville said.
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