NAMPA, Idaho — As voters prepare to cast their ballots for Idaho District 13's senate seat, two candidates — one-term incumbent Brian Lenney and opponent Sarah Butler — are vying for the seat. Senator Lenney declined to interview so I sat down with Butler at the Nampa Library.
- Sen. Lenney declined to interview but has a history of sponsoring education bills through firearm education and allowing school employees with a concealed carry permit to carry on campus in certain instances.
- Opponent Sarah Butler aims to provide funding for education from the state level, reducing or removing the dependency on bonds and levies.
(Below is the transcript from the broadcast story)
As voters prepare to cast their ballots for Idaho District 13's senate seat, two candidates — one-term incumbent Brian Lenney and opponent Sarah Butler — are vying for the seat. Senator Lenney declined to interview so I sat down with Butler at the Nampa Library.
Butler's top three concerns are affordable housing solutions, easing growth and improving infrastructure with the growth and the funding of education.
"This should not be paid for by local governments, by property taxes. And so my goal would be to get that to happen. And the money could come from changing the exemptions in the sales tax," Butler said.
Last legislative session Brian Lenney sponsored two bills related to schools. Senate Bill 1317 passed a new license plate design that would benefit the State Board of Education by creating a Firearms Safety Grant Fund and firearms safety education. The design: the Don't Tread On Me flag.
The other school-related bill sponsored by Lenney did not make it to the Senate floor. House Bill 415 aimed to allow a school employee who possessed an enhanced license to carry concealed weapons to carry on school property in certain instances.
In 2019, Governor Little raised teachers starting salary to $40,000 — an amount that Butler still doesn't believe is enough.
"I mean, we're trusting our most valuable resource, which is our children and our future workers in the community, to these people to educate them. So they should be paid more, probably more on the range of $60,000," Butler said.
