Plan Would Cut Idaho Kindergarten Budget

Republican Representative Steve Thayn introduced the bill Tuesday in the House Education Committee. Thayn says by cutting two-thirds of the roughly $50 million spent on kindergarten each year, the state could save more than $30 million, money that could be funneled back into the state general fund and spent filling in public education budget gaps in grades one through 12. School districts would be left with about $17 million to spend on kindergarten and focus on at-risk students, preparing them for the first grade. The bill is among cost-cutting measures lawmakers are floating amid Idaho's worsening budget outlook.