Caldwell public schools will soon display new signs that say “In God We Trust,” after a Canyon County couple offered to donate them.
State law requires public schools, colleges and universities to display signs that include the U.S. national motto — “In God We Trust” — if the materials are donated.
Jo Dee and Daniel Arnold of Canyon County recently offered to give the signs to the Caldwell School District, and trustees quietly voted to accept the gift Monday. The couple is donating a sign for each of the district’s nine schools.
Faith has been “removed from our daily lives,” Jo Dee Arnold told Idaho Education News. And while parents can teach children about God and morality at home, they’re not encouraged to express their beliefs at school, she said.
“With the new Idaho state law, we saw an opportunity to give children a reminder that the Creator is always with them,” Arnold said in an emailed statement. “Our donation …helps remind students that we are a free people, free to express our faith in the Creator regardless of where you are, even at school.”
Arnold said she got the idea after reading House Bill 202 in 2023. Active in local politics, Arnold said she volunteers in elections and helps legislators by reading their bills. She also has run for GOP precinct committeeman, and was a candidate for Canyon County clerk last year.
HB 202 codified that education institutions under State Board of Education jurisdiction must display a “durable poster” or “framed copy” representing the national motto, if the material is donated. Nampa Republican Reps. Bruce Skaug and Jeff Cornilles sponsored the bill.
According to the law, the signs must also include a representation of the U.S. and/or Idaho flag, and they must be displayed “in a conspicuous place.” Education institutions have discretion over the size of the signs, but otherwise, schools, colleges and universities must accept and display them.
Caldwell trustees initially punted a vote on accepting the Arnolds’ offer, after questioning how big the signs would be — they’re two feet by two feet. But trustees unanimously voted to accept them Monday with no discussion.
On Tuesday, school board chairman Travis Manning told EdNews that he appreciated the donation “as a person of faith.”
“Idaho could benefit greatly from following the two great commandments Jesus Christ gave us: love God and love our neighbors,” Manning said by email. “‘All’ our neighbors — whether or not they’re legal or illegal immigrants, white, black or brown, no matter their political affiliation, regardless if they are LGBTQ+, rich or poor, bond or free. All are alike unto God.”
A mockup of the sign that the Arnolds shared with the school board shows the “In God We Trust” motto along with an image of the U.S. flag waving in front of a sunset.
Jo Dee Arnold told EdNews that she had hoped HB 202 would motivate organizations to donate posters to school districts. When that didn’t happen, Arnold and her husband decided to do it themselves.
The couple also plans to donate “In God We Trust” signs to the Nampa School District.
Asked how non-religious public school students might react to the message, Arnold said they “don’t have to feel any way about them.”
“There’s lots of different religions. The meaning of it is not pushed on anyone,” she said by phone Tuesday. “The Legislature said that we could do this and that’s something that we decided we would take advantage of.”
Similar signs in the Lake Pend Oreille School District sparked a complaint filed with the Idaho Department of Education earlier this year. The complainant said that “In God We Trust” is a religious belief that violates a separate state law barring school districts from displaying political, religious or ideological viewpoints.
But IDE allowed the sign to stay up, citing HB 202’s national motto requirement. “It is the department’s position that if the school display in question complies with the national motto law, then it does not violate the school displays law,” state superintendent Debbie Critchfield wrote at the time.
