Senate Education committee advances bill to restore school staff‑allowance flexibility

The Senate Education Committee voted unanimously to send House Bill 305 to the full Senate with a due‑pass recommendation, moving a proposal to restore staff‑allowance flexibility for traditional public school districts to the floor.

House Bill 305 would restore a 9.5% staff‑allowance flexibility that districts can use to hire fewer full‑time equivalent certificated staff than their salary‑based apportionment would otherwise fund and redirect those funds to other pressing needs. Representative Sonia Galaviz, who introduced the bill to the committee, said the flexibility lets local school boards “meet the needs, the most pressing needs within their schools.”

Supporters told the committee the flexibility was effectively reduced beginning with a 2016 statutory change that cuts a district’s flexibility by 1 percentage point if that district’s average class size exceeds the statewide average by one or more students compared with similarly sized districts. Spencer Barzee, deputy superintendent at the State Department of Education, told senators the comparison rule is set out in Idaho Code 33‑1002 and that the reduced percentage is permanent once lost.

Barzee said the department’s statewide data show the group‑1 statewide average class size at 16.77 students; any district above 17.77 in that group would have lost 1% of flexibility. He described how districts are grouped for the comparison because divisors used in funding calculations differ by district size. Barzee said the calculation excludes curriculum coaches, directors and counselors and counts only classroom teachers.

Superintendents from affected districts described local impacts. Scott Wolsten Hume, superintendent of Bonneville School District, told the committee the district is “$4,000,000 upside down” after shifts in funding rules and a loss of flexibility and said, without restoration, districts may be forced to cut classified staff such as special‑education paraprofessionals, behavior‑support staff and custodians rather than increase class sizes. Jason Moss, superintendent of Grace School District, said his district has lost about 3% of its flexibility and roughly $121,000 in discretionary funds and that the loss has made it difficult to fund nonreimbursed transportation and paraprofessionals for preschool students with IEPs.

Committee members asked whether restoring the flexibility would cause class sizes to grow. Barzee said the department’s analysis does not show large class‑size increases from restoring flexibility and that funding already adjusts with enrollment under Idaho Code 33‑1002. Senators also discussed parity with charter schools, which the committee was told do not face the same statutory limit and in many cases already operate with broader flexibility.

Several senators urged caution about expanding beyond the bill’s text. Representative Galaviz told the committee the bill was negotiated with stakeholders to restore the 9.5% allowance and that she would consult stakeholders before proposing broader changes that would make traditional districts’ flexibility identical to charter schools’.

Senator Woodward moved that the committee send House Bill 305 to the Senate floor with a due‑pass recommendation. The motion was moved and seconded; the committee approved it by voice vote.

The committee record shows no roll‑call tally; members present voted by voice and the motion carried. With the committee’s approval, HB 305 proceeds to the Senate floor for further consideration.

Votes at a glance: House Bill 305 — Send to Senate floor with due pass recommendation; motion moved by Senator Woodward; approved by committee voice vote.