Nels Mitchell on Education

More funding for schools, from property tax, not sales tax

"In 2006, Risch sold the legislature on a wrong-headed plan to swap public schools' property tax funding for an increase in the sales tax," Mitchell said. "He promised us schools wouldn't lose money. The fact is, they lost big--$50 million in one fell swoop, and that was just the beginning."

Mitchell said Risch's scheme raised the sales tax by a penny, which impacted all Idaho families, while the concurrent property tax cut mostly benefited big corporations, and wealthy Idahoans. They got hefty breaks while Idaho families paid more in sales tax and often more in property tax as well because of override levies. "The future of our state lies in our public education system," Mitchell said.