Idaho lawmakers review public school budget as attendance-based counts reduce funded support units

Jared Tetrault, deputy division manager for the Legislative Services Office Budget and Policy Analysis Division, told the Joint Finance‑Appropriations Committee on March 4 that the state’s public school support budget is driven by statutory formulas, salary and benefit apportionments and changing student counts. The governor’s recommended general‑fund baseline is roughly $2.7 billion, with about $277 million in dedicated funds and approximately $260.6 million in federal grants in the current budget cycle.

The update matters because Idaho distributes most K‑12 funding by “support units,” a statutory construct that converts student counts into staff‑funding equivalents. "This is how the majority of funds are distributed in the public school system," Tetrault said. He told the committee that recent changes in how the state counts students —back to attendance rather than enrollment—have reduced funded support units by roughly 200, producing line‑item decreases in several…