POCATELLO — Admittedly, Rep. Rick Cheatum did not quite understand how charter schools worked before Wednesday. But after a tour of three Pocatello-area schools, Cheatum and a handful of other East Idaho politicians saw it all in action.

“It’s been intriguing to learn the reality,” said Cheatum, R-Pocatello. “I thought this was important to come to to understand what this is about before we start passing legislation.”

The tour, one of seven that will take place statewide in the coming weeks, highlights the existing school choice options Idaho students have as talk of private school subsidies heats up ahead of the 2025 legislative session.  

“I want people to understand that we’ve got some really good choices in Idaho,” said Terry Ryan, CEO of the nonprofit organization Bluum, which organized the statewide tours.

And he wanted to tout the progress that’s been made in the charter school movement since it began in 1998. Even in the last five years, charter schools have grown and improved, and Ryan said he wanted to ensure legislators see that. 

The tours also feature panels that facilitate conversation between parents and politicians. 

“You guys are the ones that matter,” Ryan told a group of parents at Alpine Academy Wednesday. “I think parents have more influence now on the legislative process than maybe ever.”

Wednesday, parents used their platform to share their stories with legislators. Many chose charter schools because they felt the traditional school system was not right for their children — it was not challenging enough, it was not adequately supporting a child with special needs, or it did not align with the parents’ values as well as a charter school. 

At two sessions, conversation turned to what parents called ‘vouchers’ — a controversial word that gets at a more controversial effort to subsidize private schools with state taxpayer dollars. In previous legislative sessions, private school subsidy bills have failed, but the issue is highly likely to resurface in 2025. 

Legislators listened and shared their main concern: that a subsidy program wouldn’t hold private schools accountable for how they use the tax dollars. 

‘No accountability:’ Legislators and parents talk vouchers 

At Pocatello Community Charter School, parent Rachael Levay told legislators: “My biggest concern about my kids’ education moving forward is state support for it.” A voucher system would “(siphon) money from public schools” which are “already underfunded,” she said. 

PCCS, for example, cannot afford a busing system for students, said Michael Mendive, the school’s administrator. Currently, parents must provide their children’s transportation, which limits who is able to attend the school. Budget constraints and red tape have also kept the K-8 school from opening a high school, Mendive said. 

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At Alpine Academy in Chubbuck, another parent said she has repeatedly heard about vouchers and asked legislators for an update. Rep. Dan Garner, R-Clifton, emphasized the push for vouchers from non-Idahoans: “There was a lot of outside money spent this last election cycle on that, trying to encourage you to force it through.”

For Garner, who is on the House Education committee, the biggest “hang-up” when it comes to vouchers is that “there is no accountability of where the tax credit funds go, what they’re spent on, or test scores to make sure that your kid’s improving.” 

Another factor: “They sell these vouchers as a school choice program, and yet, Idaho is in the top ten for school choice,” Garner said. 

“I do know it’ll be a hot topic this year, and they probably picked up enough votes to push it through so the best I can hope for is to try and tack on some accountability,” Garner continued.

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In an interview with EdNews, Mary Shea, a candidate for a House seat and the lone Democrat at Wednesday’s tour, echoed Garner’s sentiment that Idaho already has a strong school choice system in place.

“As we heard today, our charter schools need more help and support,” Shea wrote in an email. “We should be supporting and promoting the accountable choices we have, instead of creating a  new unaccountable parallel system we likely cannot afford.”

Shea’s opponent, incumbent Rep. Dustin Manwaring, R-Pocatello, said in an interview that he wants to ensure private schools would be held accountable if they took tax dollars. “How do we get to a point where we can say we’re putting in more dollars and we’re getting better performance? That’s what we need to be able to say.” 

Cheatum mentioned another concern: that school choices are too limited in rural areas of the state. “Those options don’t exist for those kids,” he said. 

Three schools, three very different approaches

Charter schools generally choose a specific focus or theme, which quickly differentiates them from each other and from traditional schools. Lawmakers saw that up close on Wednesday.

At Gem Prep Pocatello, students earned the privilege to study independently in an open commons area that was designed to feel like a college campus. There, students are able to “walk-up,” or take classes in higher grade levels if they are academically ready or it. 

“I like that because they’re always pushing us and we aren’t bored out of our mind,” a fourth-grade student at Gem Prep said during a panel discussion. 

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At Pocatello Community Charter School, students led lawmakers on a tour and explained the school’s philosophy, answering questions with the confidence of adults. The best part of their school, according to them: the outdoor adventures — like backpacking, rafting, and skiing.

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And at Alpine Academy, students are learning in a new, state-of-the-art building that provides them opportunities to explore art, music, weightlifting and more. Each of their teachers is supported with an aide who helps grade and monitor student behavior. 

That’s so when teachers come to school, they can teach — not babysit or do paperwork. 

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“This puts it into perspective …  that there’s different fits for different kids,” Manwaring said.

Disclosure: Bluum and Idaho Education News are both funded by the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Family Foundation. The foundation does not take part in EdNews’ editorial decisions or content.