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Department of Education briefs committee on $1 billion school modernization bond program and statewide facility condition assessment
Summary
Department of Education staff described distribution of roughly $1 billion in bond proceeds authorized by last session’s House Bill 521, the methodology used to allocate funds to districts, reporting and training requirements, and a statewide facility-condition assessment estimating about $19 billion in needs over 20 years.
Gideon Tullman, financial officer at the Idaho Department of Education, and Spencer Barzee, deputy superintendent, briefed the House Committee on Education on the School Modernization Facilities Fund established in House Bill 521 from the prior legislative session.
Tullman said the program used the State Building Authority and underwriters to access tax-exempt bond markets and that the state issued bond proceeds in two issuances (a $750 million issuance followed by an issuance that produced an additional $336.5 million in proceeds). He told the committee the first issuance totaled $750,000,000 and the second produced proceeds that brought the program total above $1 billion; the department has distributed $1 billion to districts and planned distribution of the roughly $86.5 million in additional proceeds using the same allocation formula unless the legislature directs otherwise.
District allocations followed the law’s formula, which is based on each district’s best 28 weeks average daily attendance. The department required districts to develop 10-year facilities plans, attend training webinars (topics included construction, architecture and state procurement), and attest to statutory conditions before receiving funds. Tullman said all districts chose a lump-sum distribution rather than annual installments so that districts could earn interest while planning and executing projects.
Spencer Barzee described the facility condition assessment process the department used. The department contracted Jacobs Construction to perform standardized facility condition assessments across 653 student-occupied buildings (about 50 million square feet) using a 37-category rubric. Each category was rated (good, fair, poor, unsatisfactory) and the survey generated a Facility Condition Index (FCI). Barzee summarized the FCI thresholds the department used: an FCI greater than 60% suggests replacement is likely; 40–60% is poor; 21–40% fair; under 21% is good.
Barzee reported estimated repair and replacement needs calculated by the assessment software: approximately $2.7 billion for work in years 0–5, $5.6 billion for years 6–10, $10.0 billion for years 11–20, and a 20-year total just under $19 billion (the department presented a separate line that applies 5% annual inflation for longer-term planning). The department emphasized that bond proceeds must be used for capital projects that meet bonding-law requirements (useful life of seven years or more) and that routine maintenance funding rules differ depending on the funding source.
Committee members asked implementation questions including how proceeds were issued (negotiated vs. competitive underwriting), why the department used average daily attendance for allocation rather than a needs-based targeting of the worst facilities, what happens to any additional proceeds if the legislature does not act, and how closed or soon-to-be-closed facilities were treated. Tullman and Barzee said the allocation followed the statute (attendance-based) and that the December 2024 condition assessment reported on buildings occupied in fiscal year 2024; districts that closed facilities after that date would not be reflected in the FY24 snapshot.
Ending: The department said it will continue to monitor district reporting, and districts will be required to annually report use of proceeds under the bonding law’s restrictions. Committee members asked for follow-up details on underwriting process and the second-issuance proceeds.
