Idaho

The state of Idaho was ranked last nationwide in the amount of money the state allocates for education for each K-12 student according to 2017 census data. The state also ranked second to last in the amount it actually spends per-pupil, beating only Utah. Over the last five years there has been an increase in education funding in the amount of $500 million. Most of these increases have gone towards restoring dollars that were cut during the recession.

Funding priorities for p-12

• • New Teacher Pay Raise: During the 2019 session, the Idaho legislature passed a measure to raise the starting salary of new teachers to $40,000. The raise will be rolled out over the next two years with an overall cost to the state of $11.4 million.

• • Education Task Force: The budget includes $100,000 to launch the governor's K-12 education task force. The job of the task force is to evaluate the next steps in strategic funding of public schools for the future.

• • Master Teacher Premium: The legislature funded one year of a program to give high performing veteran teachers a $4,000 bonus, annually. This will cost the state department roughly $7.2 million.

• • Money for Reading: The legislature appropriated $26 million for early elementary reading improvement. This action doubled the budget for this cause due to the 47% of K-3 students in Idaho behind in reading skills.

Changes to funding formula for p-12

Idaho was slated to see a new educational funding model pass the legislature during the 2019 legislative session. Such a bill did not pass. Instead, HB 293, a funding formula definitions bill was passed by the legislature. However, the measure did not include a new funding formula, but focused on investigating what key components should be included in a new formula, should one pass in the future. HB 293 is referred to as "Funding Formula Lite" and attempts to narrow down several definitions pertinent to Idaho's public-school funding formula. The bill draws up student definitions for subgroups such as economically disadvantaged students, English language learners, gifted and talented students. The bill also increases data collection and reporting requirements for schools and districts. If a new funding formula is created in the future, these definitions will be crucial to its development as it will likely be a student-based model. Thus, there was no change made to the existing funding formula as of FY 2019-2020.

Pressing state issues affecting p-12

• • Education Funding Formula: Idaho was expected to roll out a new funding formula during the 2019 session. However, a planning bill was passed, instead of a new formula. A new funding formula is needed as soon as possible to address problems with the system of public education in Idaho such as the low per-pupil expenditures.

• • Teacher Shortage: Idaho is experiencing a teacher shortage that is trending in many states across the nation. The legislature approved a plan to make up to $200,000 in state funding available for non-traditional teacher training programs such as Teach for America. This is a small step to address the shortage in addition to raising the starting pay of teachers to $40,000.

• • Lack of Pre-K Program: A bill to create a voluntary state-funded pre-K program did not get introduced in the House Education Committee. Idaho is one of only four states without a state-funded pre-k.

Exclusive to p-12: forces diverting funds from traditional public school districts

• • Charter Schools: Charter schools do not overwhelmingly impact public schools in Idaho for the worse. If the public education system doesn't get the attention it needs to fix the current problems, charter schools might see an increase in enrollment. The legislature did pass a bill related to charter school building bonds in an attempt to help save charters interest.

P-12 Per-Pupil Expenditure: $8,587

Allocation of state dollars and percent of the state budget for p-12

The 2019-2020 public schools budget for the state of Idaho totaled $1.887 billion dollars, a 6.3% increase from the 2018-2019 budget...