School District #271 Trustees at groundbreaking of the 10th elementary school.


John with Congressman Mike Simpson and former Speak of the House Bruce Newcomb.



" Senator Goedde at the S 1051 signing ceremony"

John has been a proponent of highway improvement. He concered with GARVEE funding to jumpstart work on US95 in 2005 and worked to maintain the Garwood/Sagle funding this year. He has presented to the Washington and Idaho Transportation Boards as well as a US Congressional Committee on the importance of US95 and has worked with strategic alliances from Washington, British Columbia and Alberta on the issue.


Education

As Chairman of the Senate Education Committee, John has worked diligently toward getting the “Best Bang for the Buck in Education”. He believes we must:

• Develop a plan to identify and remediate teachers performing below par as well as providing a financial incentive for teachers with proven track records.
  
  
• Public charter schools have worked in Idaho for the most part. Traditional schools must incorporate lessons learned in charter settings into classroom routines.
  
  
• Idaho post secondary enrollment is terrrible. A better community college system must be developed to provide an accessible education at lower cost than that found in many parts of Idaho. There must be an equitable funding arrangement statewide.
  

Economy

Private enterprise is the foundation of our nation; it provides jobs and taxes which support needed public services for the citizens of our state. Idaho needs to continue to be a good state in which to do business.

Taxation

In northern Idaho, we suffer from the inequities of the current sales tax and liquor tax distribution formulas. All new taxes collected should stay where infrastructures needs demand it.

Sales tax exemptions other than the production tax exemption should be required to requalify every five years.

Design a funding system to pay for school construction without penalizing citizens who have accepted their responsibility locally and built schools.