A radical dismissal of our state public education system

Every now and then the mist parts and we find out just how radical some of our ‘conservatives’ actually are. On February 15, 2019 Wayne Hoffman posted an article at the web site of the Idaho Freedom Foundation titled School funding formula rewrite a failure. Later on February 18, 2019 it appeared as an opinion column in the Idaho Press. In paragraph five he revealed his agenda:

“You can take my observations with some grains of salt. I don’t think government should be in the education business. It is the most virulent form of socialism (and indoctrination thereto) in America today. The predictable result has been higher costs, lower performance, and a system that twists itself in knots to prove it’s educating kids when really it’s not.”

That is an amazingly radical statement calling for chopping down something I thought we all long ago had agreed upon. It completely conflicts with the Idaho Constitution. Article IX. Education and School Lands, which instead simply and clearly says:

“Section 1. LEGISLATURE TO ESTABLISH SYSTEM OF FREE SCHOOLS. The stability of a republican form of government depending mainly on the intelligence of the people, it shall be the duty of the of the legislature of Idaho, to establish and maintain a general, uniform and thorough system of public, free common schools.”

Also on February 18, 2019 in the Idaho Press there was an Eye on Boise article by Betsy Russell titled Hoffman: “I don’t think government should be in the education business.”

The cartoon of cutting down a tree was modified from an image at Openclipart.