Rep. Zac Ista, Grand Forks

There’s a saying in politics: “Don’t tell me what your values are. Show me your budget, and I’ll tell you what your values are.”

Well, some North Dakota lawmakers value subsidizing private schools and feeding themselves more than they value feeding schoolchildren, because the legislature passed laws to give away $10M per year of public money to private schools and to increase their own meal stipends by nearly $1M. Meanwhile, Senate Republicans defeated a bill to invest $6M per biennium in no-cost school meals for more families.

Opponents of school meals argue that it is solely parents’ responsibility to pay for these lunches and that expanding no-cost meals is a slippery slope to expanding other benefits. If that’s so, how could many Republicans vote for $11M for private school vouchers and legislator lunches but claim $6M for no-cost school meals is just a bridge too far?

That’s a particularly vexing question given the private school subsidy costs the state over three times as much as expanded school lunches would. This is because the subsidy extends to families earning up to 500% of the federal poverty level, which is twice as generous as the next highest means test in current law. We only fund medical assistance for pregnant women at 162% and Medicaid for disabled workers at 225%, and the current school meal proposal is only at 200%. That means a family of four making up to $150,000 will qualify for a private school subsidy, but only families making under $60,000 a year would receive no-cost school meals.

We must do better for all North Dakota families. With private school vouchers available to families making up to 500% of the federal poverty level, that should become the new baseline for all means-tested benefits. Let’s start with school meals, and let’s do it this session.