Idaho Falls finance director briefs Senate education panel on school funding formula, support units and enrollment risks

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 unit yields salary‑based apportionment and discretionary funding.

Farmer provided examples and amounts from the current funding rules. She said the discretionary allocation tied to a support unit for fiscal year 2025 is $43,622, of which she said $20,150 is designated for insurance and the remaining approximately $23,004 is truly discretionary. She described how support units translate into staffing allocations (instructional, pupil services, administrative and classified FTE) and how the state career‑ladder matrix drives salary apportionment: “It’s a state salary matrix ... which sets a minimum level of pay that is used to allocate revenue,” she said.

The director warned that Idaho’s return to ADA (average daily attendance) funding after the pandemic altered the districts’ revenue because ADA can be lower than raw enrollment when attendance declines. “You could have the same number of students, but a lower level of attendance — and the funding is based on attendance,” Farmer told senators, noting that secondary schools in many districts remain below pre‑COVID attendance levels.

Farmer also described the state “protection” program, which she said is a self‑funded insurance mechanism to smooth revenue when attendance drops; the program’s assessed contribution rose substantially in recent years because many districts were protected after COVID, increasing the per‑district charge in 2024. She described other special revenue allocations the state provides — professional development, college and career advisors, literacy funding and remediation — and noted that some of those funds are “use it or lose it.”

On staffing and funding choices, Farmer emphasized that not all district employees are full‑time and that the state’s classified and administrative reimbursement amounts can be insufficient in districts that choose to pay above the statutory minimums. She said districts often use discretionary or levy funds to make up competitive wages.

Ending: Farmer urged the committee to consider how ADA, state allocations for insurance and the career‑ladder model interact with local staffing choices and supplemental levies, and she answered senators’ questions about ADA, protection costs and the mechanics of the salary matrix.