A Short Course In Idaho Public School Finance

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Understanding Idaho school finance can be a daunting task as there are numerous sources of funds, formulas, and rules and regulations. However, there are some indisputable facts that have not changed for years. For example, funding of our schools is derived from a number of sources. Chief among them is the funding school districts receive from the State. In addition to the State sources, school districts also receive a significant amount of revenue from local property tax as well as federal funds. Also, a small amount of support is derived from local sources in the form of fees, gate receipts, rental of facilities and interest earned on idle funds. With the exception of the last source, (local) all other funds are derived from the many and varying types of taxes that we all pay.

Most schools receive funding from all four sources, with the exception of charter schools, which receive their funding primarily from State sources. Charter schools also receive some funding from the federal government and a small amount from local sources. They do NOT receive any funding from property taxes.

Lets examine the four sources and how school districts access them.

1. Local sources. In the overall scheme of things this source is a minute one. All schools and school districts receive some funding from gate receipts, rental of facilities and earnings on the investment of idle funds. It is a very small amount.

2. Property taxes. The amount of property taxes accruing to districts, with the exception of charter schools, varies a great deal across the State. Statewide, property taxes totaled $225 million for fiscal year 2010 and accounted for 11.3% of the total revenue for schools. The amount received is determined by various levies imposed on the real property of the district. Most of these levies must be voter approved such as plant facility, bond and supplemental levies. Those proceeds from bond and plant facilities levies must be used for specific purposes, while the supplemental levy, as the name suggests, can be used for any purpose as determined by the board of trustees. Other property tax levies, such as the emergency levy, can be imposed by a vote of the school board without voter approval. Once again, the only schools in Idaho that do NOT receive any of these property tax proceeds are charter schools!

3. Federal funds. Statewide about 15.3% of a school districts revenues are derived from federal programs. There are assorted titles, grants and programs that provided about $398 million for fiscal year 2010 for our schools. Schools receive funds for school lunch, for handicapped children, federal forest funds, impact aid funds and other assorted funds, most of which are available in varying amounts to all schools, charter and traditional.

4. State funds. Other than transportation reimbursement for allowable travel, the balance of the State revenues are distributed to school districts based upon support units. These support units are an integral part of the funding formula and are determined by ADA. (average daily attendance) So, if you have a lot of kids in attendance you receive a lot of state dollars. However, it is not quite that simple. For example: In a school district with 300 elementary students each support unit is equal to 21.5 ADA and in a school district with only 100 elementary students in ADA each support unit is equal to 16 ADA. (average daily attendance) More support units mean more state revenue. It is true that charter schools usually receive more funding per student from the State because typically they are small in numbers. Small schools of the same size, whether they are traditional or charter, receive the same level of funding. However, there is one exception, the traditional school district has a “safety net” if they lose a lot of students they still receive 99% of the prior years funding. Such “safety net” does not exist for charter schools. Another exception: Traditional schools can turn to the emergency levy to obtain extra property tax payer funds for student growth. Charter schools cannot get extra funding for either student increase or decrease.

For the current fiscal year 2010, state funding amounted to $1.45 Billion or 73.25% of the total statewide school expenditures. Those funds were distributed to school districts based upon the number of support units as calculated in the paragraph above, and 2/3 of that amount is distributed primarily through salary based apportionment. Again, those funds are distributed to school districts and charter schools as determined by their number of support units. Specifically, the calculations are as follows: For teachers multiply number of support units by 1.1 and for administrators multiply support units by .075 and for support staff multiply the number of support units by .375,

Summary:

• Over 99% of a school’s revenue is derived from 3 sources, local property tax, (11.3%) federal sources (15.3%) and State sources. (73.25%)
• All of these funds are paid by taxpayers
• All schools receive funding from all sources with the exception of charter schools which DO NOT receive any property tax proceeds.
• Charter schools DO NOT have any property tax levying authority.
  State funds are distributed to all schools based upon a formula driven by the number of support units for that school.

• The number of support units for a school is determined by the number and type of students in average daily attendance.
• The formula used to determine the number of support units uses a table of divisors which provides greater equity for the small traditional school or the typical charter school.
• The value of each support unit is determined by the state appropriation divided by the estimated number of support units statewide.
• The number of support units a school generates determines the amount of money it receives from the state.

  Get the full Idaho Legislature Fiscal Facts Publication