Keith Allred, Democratic candidate for governor, says the latest official state revenue forecasts shows "Otter cut schools unnecessarily," and said in a news release this morning, "New information about Idaho's budget once again underscores one point: Idaho school kids shouldn't have to pay the price for Butch Otter's botched budget."

Idaho lawmakers and Otter cut funding for public schools this year by $128 million, 7.5 percent. The latest state revenue forecast suggests the current fiscal year, which began July 1, could end with about $80 million more in state tax revenue that lawmakers predicted; the first month of the fiscal year, July, brought in $4.5 million above the forecast. "Otter made a mistake," Allred declared. "We could have kept them whole without raising taxes. ... We're crippling our own ability to compete in a future that we knew would eventually look brighter. That's no way to run a state." You can read Allred's full release here.