Idaho lawmakers hear overview of public school support budget as attendance shifts reduce funded classroom units

Jared Tetrault, deputy division manager for the Legislative Services Office’s Budget and Policy Analysis Division, told the Joint Finance‑Appropriations Committee on March 4 that the public school support program accounts for the bulk of K‑12 appropriations and serves 115 local school districts and roughly 75 public charter schools statewide. He said most funding is distributed through statutory “support units,” with the state funding 1.55 full‑time equivalent positions per support unit and an average per‑support‑unit allocation of about $147,000.

Tetrault said the program’s funding comes from general fund, dedicated and federal sources and that the Public Education Stabilization Fund (PSIF) is used to reconcile differences between appropriation and distributions. “If there’s an under appropriation, then a withdrawal can occur from the fund. If there’s an over appropriation, then there’s a deposit,” he said.

Why it matters: The committee heard that even without higher total appropriations, fewer funded support units can reduce money distributed to districts because Idaho law requires distributions be based on average daily attendance. “During COVID the counting process changed from attendance to a hybrid of enrollment with an attendance component,” Superintendent Debbie Critchfield said during the hearing. “Post COVID… percentages are closer to 94 percent.…