BOISE, Idaho — School districts across Idaho are concerned about their ability to access the entirety of historic state funding allocated to public K-12 schools due to a change in the funding formula.
"We're just trying to provide the very best educational experience for our kids," Twin Falls School District Superintendent Brady Dickinson said. "For most districts around the state, they're gonna have to reduce staff."
Normally, the state funds school districts based on average attendance figures, according to the Idaho State Department of Education. However, through the COVID-19 pandemic, the Idaho Governor's Office and Idaho State Board of Education elected to fund schools based on enrollment in response to a sharp attendance drop.
Starting the fall of 2023, Idaho will fund public schools on the regular attendance-based formula. Officials with both the Twin Falls and Nampa school districts told KTVB they are not seeing attendance reach pre-pandemic levels.
"And due to that, we're going to lose millions of dollars," NSD Superintendent Gregg Russell said. "If your districts operating at 91-92% attendance and you have 100% of students, you're losing eight or 9% of your budget."
The Idaho State Legislature increased public K-12 school funding by 16.4% in the 2023 Legislative session. This includes money allocated for teacher raises, averaging out at $6,359 per teacher.
"How each district addresses the funding change will ultimately be a decision made at the local level. However, Superintendent Critchfield has encouraged school leaders to be creative in addressing the funding change, and to avoid diverting the money intended to raise wages," ISBE Communications Director Scott Graf wrote KTVB in an email.
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