Lawmakers Hear Overview of Idahopublic school support budget, funding drivers and enrollment shifts

Jared Tetrault, deputy division manager with the Legislative Services Office Budget and Policy Analysis Division, told the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee on March 4 that the public school support program covers roughly 115 school districts and about 75 public charter schools and that most funding is distributed via statutory formulas in Idaho Code Title 33. "This is what we often refer to as the big sheet," Tetrault said, describing a single-page summary of the program that shows original appropriation, the agency request, the governor's recommendation and statutory distribution rules.

The budget matters because the formulas and demographic measures determine how millions flow to districts and charters across Idaho. The committee was shown that the largest cost drivers are career-ladder salary and benefits for teachers, salary-based apportionment for administrators and classified staff, discretionary funds, transportation, federal grants and health insurance allocations. Tetrault said the state allocates staffing funding through "support units," a formula that funds 1.55 full-time-equivalent positions per classroom unit and noted the state must use average daily attendance (not enrollment) for distributions under Idaho law.

Why it matters: those attendance-based calculations have pushed the state to…