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Public school funding will be a hot topic this year, mostly because of political momentum to pass a private school choice bill into law. At the same time, State Superintendent Debbie Critchfield is pushing to revise how public schools are funded so that more dollars can be allocated to students who are more expensive to educate, like those with disabilities or who are learning English.
But the ins-and-outs of public school finance are complicated. We hope this explainer will help clarify it all, so you can better understand the conversations around education funding.
Idaho generally spends less on each student than any other state
We can compare how much Idaho spends on public schools to other states with a data point called per pupil expenditure, which means the average amount of money spent on each student.
In 2022, Idaho spent an average of $9,832 on each student, according to state data.
When it comes to per-student spending, Idaho is usually in last place nationwide, or close to it.
However, Idaho tends to spend a greater percentage of its state budget on education than others. Multiple factors – such as Idahoans’ general aversion to debt and taxes and the state’s relatively low cost of living and small economy – contribute to that discrepancy. For more information on per pupil expenditure, check out www.idahoednews.org/ news/per-pupil-expenditure- explained-a-crashcourse- on-how-its-calculated- and-compared.
Per student spending also varies from district to district. You can look up the 2024 per-student spending at your district www.idahoednews.org.
Legislators are required to provide an equal education to all
Idaho legislators are constitutionally mandated to “establish and maintain a general, uniform and thorough system of public, free common schools.” That line is commonly cited by education stakeholders who believe legislators should allocate more funding to public education.
Traditional Schools
Traditional public schools are funded through a combination of federal, state and local dollars.
In the 2024-2025 school year, for example, 79% of public school funding was from the state, while 11.8% was from local taxes, and 9.4% was from the federal government.
Here’s the breakdown by dollar amount: State: $2.9 billion Local: $450 million Federal: $351 million Federal Some of the federal money goes to the state, which distributes it to districts. And some goes directly to schools to support certain student populations, such as those with disabilities or from low-income families.
State
This funding is allocated to districts according to a series of complex formulas. In simplest terms, the amount of money districts receive depends on student numbers, student attendance rates, and staff experience and education levels.
Oftentimes, districts want to hire more staff and provide higher salaries than what state allocations would provide for. To do so, they usually turn to local property taxpayers for help.
Local Local support comes via school elections. A local district might ask local property taxpayers to support a bond or levy. Those funds can then be used for a variety of district needs, from building new schools to supplementing teacher salaries.
In North Idaho, school districts tend to rely more heavily on levies largely because of their proximity to Washington, a higher cost of living and increased travel.
To see how much your district relies on levies, go to www.idahoednews.org/ news/spelling-it-out-howpublic- schools-are-funded.
Charter Schools
Charter schools are funded similarly to traditional schools, except they are not allowed to seek bonds or levies from local taxpayers.
That means charter schools need to fund new buildings differently than their traditional peers (who often use bonds to do so).
Here’s how they do it, according to reporting from Ryan Suppe and Kevin Richert: They leverage state facilities dollars along with bonds and private donations to finance capital projects.
The state also gives charters a per-student allocation for facilities costs, which has ranged from $300 to $400 per student in recent years.
Plus, two recent policy changes provide some help: In 2023, the Legislature passed two bills that helped charters obtain short- and long-term financing for facilities. One bill created a $50 million revolving loan fund to jumpstart newer charters, while the other offered state-backed credit enhancement to established charters, lowering their interest rates on bonds.
IDAHO EDUCATION NEWS DATA ANALYST RANDY SCHRADER CONTRIBUTED TO THIS REPORT.
A breakdown of public school funding in Idaho.
