{"id":12639,"date":"2012-11-01T17:33:06","date_gmt":"2012-11-01T23:33:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/?p=12639"},"modified":"2012-11-01T21:38:04","modified_gmt":"2012-11-02T03:38:04","slug":"secret-donor-list-now-public-reveals-powerful-interests-backing-props-1-2-3-fight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/2012\/11\/01\/secret-donor-list-now-public-reveals-powerful-interests-backing-props-1-2-3-fight\/","title":{"rendered":"Secret Donor List, Now Public, Reveals Powerful Interests Backing Props 1, 2, 3 Fight"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_12649\"  class=\"wp-caption module image right\" style=\"max-width: 300px;\"><a class=\"fancybox\" title=\"Idahoans will cast their votes to uphold or strike down a controversial package of education reform laws on Election Day.\" href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/11\/11-1-Kiddos.jpg\" rel=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-12649\" title=\"Kids in Classroom\" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/11\/11-1-Kiddos-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/11\/11-1-Kiddos-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/11\/11-1-Kiddos-620x465.jpg 620w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Kyle Stokes \/ StateImpact Indiana<\/p><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Idahoans will cast their votes to uphold or strike down a controversial package of education reform laws on Election Day.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>When <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sos.idaho.gov\/elect\/Finance\/2012\/2012comm_pac.htm\" target=\"_blank\">financial disclosure reports<\/a> from Education Voters of Idaho were posted online yesterday, a narrative died.\u00a0 The reports show that 23 contributors gave a total of $641,160 to the group, which is working to uphold the package of controversial education laws known as <a title=\"What Idaho Voters Need To Know About Propositions 1, 2, And 3\" href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/topic\/propositions-1-2-3\/\" target=\"_blank\">Students Come First<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>More than two-thirds of that $641,160 total came from just two people: Joseph Scott, an Albertsons heir and chairman of the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Foundation, and <a title=\"Why NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg Gave $200,000 To Support Idaho\u2019s Education Reform Laws\" href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/2012\/11\/01\/why-nyc-mayor-mike-bloomberg-gave-200000-to-support-idahos-education-reform-laws\/\">New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg<\/a>.\u00a0 <!--more--><\/p>\n<div class=\"related-content alignright\"><h4 class=\"related-header\">Related<\/h4><div class=\"links\"><h5>Posts<\/h5><ul><li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/2012\/11\/01\/why-nyc-mayor-mike-bloomberg-gave-200000-to-support-idahos-education-reform-laws\/\">Why NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg Gave $200,000 To Support Idaho&#8217;s Education Reform Laws<\/a><\/li><li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/2012\/10\/31\/bloomberg-albertsons-heir-donated-to-pro-props-1-2-3-campaign\/\">NYC&#8217;s Mayor Bloomberg, Albertsons&#8217; Heir Donate To Pro-Props 1, 2, 3 Campaign<\/a><\/li><li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/2012\/10\/30\/propositions-1-2-3-what-happens-if-voters-overturn-idahos-education-laws\/\">Propositions 1, 2, 3: What Happens If Voters Overturn Idaho&#8217;s Education Laws?<\/a><\/li><li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/2012\/10\/26\/hp-laptop-contract-makes-idaho-tech-jobs-an-issue-in-props-1-2-3-vote\/\">HP Laptop Contract Makes Idaho Tech Jobs An Issue In Props 1, 2, 3 Vote<\/a><\/li><li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/2012\/10\/25\/how-idahos-180-million-education-technology-contract-impacts-hps-multibillion-dollar-bottom-line\/\">How Idaho\u2019s $180 Million Education Technology Contract Impacts HP\u2019s Multibillion-Dollar Bottom Line<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div><div class=\"topics\"><h5>Topics<\/h5><p class=\"topic\"><img class=\"alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/09\/90436770.jpg\" height=\"60\" width=\"60\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/topic\/propositions-1-2-3\/\">What Idaho Voters Need To Know About Propositions 1, 2, And 3<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<p>Education Voters of Idaho (EVI) has <a href=\"http:\/\/www.idahostatesman.com\/2012\/10\/22\/2319372\/education-voters-of-idaho-parents.html\" target=\"_blank\">claimed to represent the interest of disenfranchised Idaho parents<\/a>.\u00a0 &#8220;Like most Idahoans, we were tired of education reform getting caught up in politics and being focused on personalities,&#8221; reads <a href=\"https:\/\/www.documentcloud.org\/documents\/496741-102212-field-and-foster-op-ed.html\" target=\"_blank\">an opinion piece<\/a> distributed by EVI founders John Foster and Debbie Field last week.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We decided to do something about it,&#8221; the piece continues, &#8220;and founded EVI to push sound policies on behalf of parents and taxpayers throughout the state.\u00a0 Our voices and the voices of thousands of others like us need to be heard.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>David Adler, director of Boise State University&#8217;s Andrus Center for Public Policy, says that claim &#8212; that Education Voters of Idaho represents thousands of Idaho parents and taxpayers &#8212; no longer holds up.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;That narrative falls flat upon disclosure of the significant contributions made by a handful of individuals and organizations both within and beyond Idaho,&#8221; Adler says.<\/p>\n<p>Education Voters of Idaho filed its financial disclosure report only after Idaho Secretary of State Ben Ysursa sued for its release last week.\u00a0 A district court judge ruled<del><\/del> in Ysursa\u2019s favor on Monday, and the group said Tuesday that it would not contest the ruling.<\/p>\n<p>Like many Idahoans, Adler was anxious to see the names that Education Voters of Idaho had been keen to protect.\u00a0 &#8220;I was watching with great interest,&#8221; he says.\u00a0 &#8220;And so it was interesting, to say the least, that a number of out-of-state contributors were prominent.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Foster Friess, a Wyoming resident and longtime donor to conservative candidates and causes, contributed $25,000.\u00a0 Money also came from sources in Washington, D.C., Arizona, California, and Oregon.\u00a0 Apart from one small donation &#8212; a $100 contribution from Dan Goicoechea, a former chief deputy state controller &#8212; the smallest contribution was $1,500.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Yes for Idaho Education,&#8221; has mustered a broader base of support for the Students Come First laws, as demonstrated by the more diverse list of donors included in their <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sos.idaho.gov\/elect\/Finance\/2012\/2012comm_pac.htm\" target=\"_blank\">financial disclosure reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>On the other side &#8212; the side opposed to the package of education reform laws &#8212; the National Education Association and the Idaho Education Association are <a href=\"http:\/\/voices.idahostatesman.com\/2012\/11\/01\/idahopolitics\/idaho_education_proposition_campaigns_top_6_million_besting_4_mi\" target=\"_blank\">far and away the largest contributors<\/a>. That said, the &#8220;Vote No on Propositions 1, 2, 3&#8221; financial disclosure report includes <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sos.idaho.gov\/elect\/Finance\/2012\/Oct10\/PAC\/VoteNoOnProposition123.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">page after page of donations<\/a> under $100.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;In democratic politics, we look to see where most of the people stand on these issues,&#8221; Adler observes of the donor groups.\u00a0 &#8220;Those who donate small sums of money are giving, probably, what they can afford to contribute on an issue of great concern for them.\u00a0 That&#8217;s what we look for in politics, as opposed to the idea of having very few organizations and individuals exercise great influence on the outcome.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The Idaho Legislature passed the Students Come First laws in 2011.\u00a0 <a title=\"What Idaho Voters Need To Know About Propositions 1, 2, And 3\" href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/topic\/propositions-1-2-3\/\" target=\"_blank\">The laws do many things<\/a>, but they are known chiefly as measures that limit teachers\u2019 bargaining rights, institute pay-for-performance, and fund a technological overhaul of Idaho classrooms.<\/p>\n<p>The Students Come First laws will be put to a vote next Tuesday, November 6.\u00a0 They\u2019re addressed on the ballot by the three measures known as <a title=\"Props 1, 2, And 3: Voter\u2019s Guide To Idaho\u2019s Controversial Education Laws\" href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/2012\/10\/17\/props-1-2-and-3-voters-guide-to-idahos-controversial-education-laws\/\" target=\"_blank\">Propositions 1, 2, and 3<\/a>.\u00a0 \u201cYes\u201d votes will keep the laws in place.\u00a0 \u201cNo\u201d votes will repeal them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When financial disclosure reports from Education Voters of Idaho were posted online yesterday, a narrative died.\u00a0 The reports show that 23 contributors gave a total of $641,160 to the group, which is working to uphold the package of controversial education laws known as Students Come First. More than two-thirds of that $641,160 total came from [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":12649,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[15],"tags":[138,206],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12639"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/46"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12639"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12639\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12662,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12639\/revisions\/12662"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12649"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12639"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12639"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12639"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}