Senators and House of Representatives,

I had the pleasure of visiting with some of you over the past couple of days at Day on the Hill.   I wish I could have connected with more of you.

I want to take a minute to introduce myself.  My name is Jon Rehder and I am currently the Superintendent of the Cottonwood School District and also the Prairie Elementary principal in Cottonwood, Idaho.  I have been in education for 21 years, the first 10 years (2004-2014) I was a high school teacher at Meridian High School in the West Ada School District.  I was a vice principal at Jefferson Middle School in the Caldwell School District for 3 years (2014-2017).  My family and I had the opportunity to move “home” in 2017, where my wife and I grew up to have both of our daughters complete their educational career in the Cottonwood School District.  I was the Prairie High School principal for 4 years, before I became the Superintendent 4 years ago.

I wanted to inform you of my educational background, because it is essential that you know that I have experienced 3 different school districts in the state that are all different and have many different challenges.  Being in education for the past 21 years, has shown me what a good education can do for kids, how a positive or negative home life can impact a child’s education, and why it is imperative to have solid teachers in the classroom who are in the trenches daily with our students.  Special education and behavioral/mental health has rose exponentially since I began my career and it will continue to grow.

I know vouchers/ESA’s/tax credits/etc. have been a topic of discussion for the four years since I have been superintendent.  I’ll share my thoughts on how tax credits will negatively impact public education and our Idaho schools.  Idaho is one of the leading states that offer “school choice” with our public and charter school system.  Over the past 4 years, I have visited with several of you, either in person, via phone, or through email.  Over those 4 years, the “school choice” topic has gained more and more traction and we are on the cusp of sending the wrong message to all of our patrons across the state.  I am not only defending my small rural district, I am speaking for every district in every corner of the state.

The primary in May really shed some light on the situation, with the amount of out of state agencies that put millions of dollars into campaigns to get the “right” person into the legislative seat.  This is very concerning, that we have that many out of state agencies influencing what we do in our state, when they do not know anything about our state and further more about our schools.  Putting public tax payer money into private schools and homeschools is morally and ethically wrong.  Our state is one of the least funded states when it comes to per pupil expenditures, furthermore we are $80,000,000 short in special education.  Siphoning $50,000,000 away from public schools will only put our state even further and further behind.

When Governor Little gave his State of the State Address, he spoke about fairness, accountability, responsibility, and transparency.  In HB93, none of these exist.  The bill states that it is first come, first served, though it will concentrate on our underprivileged students first.  The issue with this in rural Idaho, the only “school choice” these underprivileged students and parents have are their public schools.  They don’t have the luxury of driving a few blocks down the street to a private school.  For some in our state, it would be a 4 hour+ round trip drive to their closest “school choice.”  How is this “fair?”  Having zero “accountability” as far as state tests, attendance requirements, and special education requirements, how is that “fair?”.  Being “responsible” with taxpayers money to give a $5,000 or $7,500 tax credit to individuals who already have their child enrolled in a private school and can afford it, how is that fair?  Being “transparent” with the money and how it is used,  sounds more like smoke in the mirrors with Tax and Revenue overseeing this.  A parent satisfaction survey at the end of the year is not a fair, responsible, accountable, and transparent way to evaluate their “school choice!”

I know HB93 is up for debate tomorrow in the Senate, I truly hope that a “tweet” from President Trump this past weekend stating he backed “school choice” in our state, is not the deciding factor to blind or jade your decision as to what you should do as a representative for your constituents in your communities.

You know what the right thing is to do.  The Idaho Constitution states that we are morally obligated to provide a “free and appropriate public education (FAPE).  It does not state that we shall provide a “free and appropriate private education!”  Do what is right for “all” Idaho students and vote no on HB93…you have the power to do what is right!!  If you truly want to know what all your constituents think of “school choice,” put it on a ballot and let all the citizens of Idaho decide.  I have a pretty good idea of what the ballot results would be!!

I would be happy to have any and all of you stop by the schools in our district.  Our doors are always open, and we are doing exceptional things in our district as well as many other districts are doing across this great state!

I look forward to hearing from you and I would love to see you visit our community!