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Voice Your Opinion On The Idaho Freedom Foundation Lawsuit Against Boise Schools

Submitted by MeAndG on Sat, 09/05/2015 - 8:33am.

"The lawsuit announced this week against the Boise School District is one worth watching because it will have sweeping consequences throughout Idaho," writes Wayne Hoffman of the Idaho Freedom Foundation. "While the Idaho Freedom Foundation’s complaint is directed at the Boise School District, it’s not the only school in Idaho where taxpayers are being forced to subsidize labor union organizing activities."

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Wayne Hoffman, head of the Idaho Freedom Foundation, announced this week that his group has filed a lawsuit against the Boise School District, raising constitutional questions about the district’s contract with its local teachers association because itallows paid leave for members who are delegates to attend Idaho Education Association conferences and covers $35,932 toward the salary and benefits of the association president, a teacher who takes leave to fulfill association duties, according to Betsy Russell on her Eye on Boise blog.

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Hoffman continues:

In Boise’s case, the school board and the Boise Education Association hatched an agreement long ago that allows a teacher to be excused from teaching to conduct union business but still remain employed by the district, remain on the government payroll and benefit from taxpayer-provided health and retirement benefits. In other words, taxpayers pay for a teacher who doesn’t teach. Instead the money and the resources go to a taxpayer-funded union boss.

This, we’ve alleged in the Boise School District lawsuit, violates the state Constitution. The constitution, borne of the days in which the railroads benefited from super cozy relationships with the government and ill-conceived funding schemes, forbids arrangements in which private organizations benefit from taxpayer support. The school district arrangement violates that covenant.

Click here to read Wayne's full article.

Here’s a statement issued Thursday afternoon by the Boise School District.

“Boise School District administration and board of trustees do not comment about pending litigation.

“However, it’s important for people to remember that for the last 20 years Boise School District has benefited from a longstanding collaborative relationship with the Boise Education Association. This partnership continues to foster a culture of respect and teamwork in the district where our professional educators are valued for their work in ensuring our community’s students are provided every opportunity to succeed in college, career and citizenship. It is due to this positive ongoing working relationship that Boise School District is highly regarded in our state and nation as a high performing comprehensive public school system.”

The Idaho Education Association (IEA), which was not listed as a party in the lawsuit, noted they are looking into the matter, according to the Daily Caller. The union stated they have seen the BEA and the BSD do a lot of good for the schools.

“The Boise Education Association and the Idaho Education Association have been made aware of litigation involving the Boise School District,” Paul Stark, the general counsel for IEA, told TheDCNF in a statement. “While we are investigating the situation further, we have no concerns about the appropriateness of the relationship between the teachers and the school district.”

“The BEA and BSD have developed a strong working relationship over many years, which has made the Boise School District one of the best educational environments for students in the state of Idaho,” Stark continued.

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