Senate education panel advances bill to restore staff-hiring flexibility for school districts

House Bill 305, which would restore a longstanding staff‑allowance flexibility for Idaho public school districts, was advanced out of the Idaho Senate Education Committee on a voice vote Wednesday.

Representative Galaviz, District 16, brought the bill and told the committee the measure would restore a 9.5 percent option that allows districts to hire fewer certificated positions than their salary‑based apportionment would otherwise fund and reallocate those dollars for local needs. "That flexibility is important for a district to be able to meet the most pressing needs within their schools," Galaviz said during the hearing.

The bill responds to a 2016 statutory change that reduces that flexibility by one percentage point for any district whose average class size exceeds the statewide average by one or more students, a loss that the State Department of Education staff and district leaders said is permanent under current law. "When a district loses their flexibility, they're being compared to other school districts of like groups," said Spencer Barzee, deputy superintendent at the State Department of Education, describing how district groups and divisors under Idaho Code 33‑1002 determine the penalty.

District officials told the committee the loss of the flexibility has practical budget consequences. Scott Wolstead Hume, superintendent of Bonneville School District, said the district has moved from a manageable shortfall to a roughly $4,000,000 deficit after shifts in funding methods and the cumulative loss of flexibility. "Without this flexibility, the only way we could right‑size that budget is on the back of our classified staff," Wolstead Hume said, naming paraprofessionals, custodians and other noncertificated positions at risk.

Jason Moss, superintendent of Grace School District, told the committee his small district has lost roughly 3 percent of its flexibility and estimated that change cost about $21,000 in discretionary funds. Moss said districts use that discretionary funding for items not fully reimbursed by state programs, citing nonreimbursable transportation costs and paraprofessional pay for preschool special education: "We use our user [sic] lease of funds for paraprofessionals, specifically special education paraprofessionals, in our preschool."

Committee members asked whether restoring the flexibility would reliably increase class sizes. Barzee responded that restoring the allowance would not automatically produce large class‑size increases, noting for example that a full restoration of flexibility would change an average class size from about 16.77 to roughly 18.77 in one district group under simple arithmetic assumptions. Several senators said the reported average class sizes were reasonable and expressed support for returning flexibility to districts while others urged caution about timing and stakeholder consultation.

After the testimony and discussion, Senator Woodward moved that the committee send House Bill 305 to the Senate floor with a due‑pass recommendation. The motion was moved and seconded, carried on a voice vote and was recorded in the minutes as "motion carries." No roll‑call tally was recorded in the committee transcript.

The bill will proceed to the full Senate for further consideration.