Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Idaho Falls finance director briefs Senate education panel on school funding formula, support units and enrollment risks
Summary
Lynelle Farmer, director of finance for Idaho Falls School District, explained how Idaho funds public schools (support units and IFAMS), the role of average daily attendance (ADA) versus enrollment, categorical funds and a recent spike in state protection program costs.
Lynell (Lynelle) Farmer, director of finance for Idaho Falls School District, briefed the Senate Education Committee on Feb. 5 about how Idaho public school funding is calculated, the district’s fiscal pressures and the operational limits created by the state’s support‑unit model.
Farmer told the committee that Idaho uses a fund accounting system governed by IFAMS (Idaho Financial Accounting Reporting Management System) and that the “general fund” (IFAMS code 100) supports most district operating costs. She explained the support‑unit system used in Idaho: districts convert attendance data into support units using statutory divisors (for example, the divisor for grades 1–3 and for kindergarten under half‑day rules) and that each support…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
