Superintendent Critchfield and the State Department of Education (SDE) have proposed a bill (SB 1096) to reform how discretionary funding is distributed to school districts. This proposal builds on previous funding formula discussions and input from various stakeholder groups. This bill is a compromise between those who want to see student dollars distributed on a per student basis and those who want to preserve the protections for small schools and the work done on the teacher career ladder.
Currently, discretionary funds account for 13% of state school funding and are crucial for district operations. These funds are traditionally allocated based on the best 28 weeks of attendance, using a support unit calculation — essentially equating to classroom-sized student groups. Districts use this funding to cover utilities, classroom supplies, technology, curriculum, staff benefits, additional hires, and extracurricular activities not funded by the state.
Idaho’s support unit model is unique, designed to ensure both small rural schools and large urban schools receive sufficient classroom funding. The weighting system helps remote schools maintain adequate staffing despite smaller class sizes.
The SDE proposal preserves the state’s salary-based apportionment, teacher career ladder, and staffing distributions, which remain tied to support units and average daily attendance. However, it changes how discretionary funds are allocated, shifting to a model based on actual student counts and weighted needs. A base per-student amount would be established, with additional funding for students qualifying as special education, English learners, at-risk, economically-disadvantaged, or gifted and talented.
This adjustment aims to address funding inequities without overhauling the entire formula. The current support unit model underfunds special education by distributing equal amounts to districts, regardless of their special education population. The new model would allocate funding based on student subpopulations, partially addressing this shortfall while reinstating previously cut funding for gifted and talented programs. It would also redistribute discretionary funds based on districts’ actual counts of English learners, at-risk, and economically disadvantaged students, ensuring additional classroom support where needed. This doesn’t necessarily provide more staff funding as that formula is not changing, but it would provide discretionary funding for classroom supports, curriculum, technology, supplies, and equipment to benefit these subpopulations.
Additionally, the SDE proposes consolidating some existing budget line items—such as English learner funds, safe and drug-free school funds, teacher professional development funds, and ISAT remediation funds—into discretionary funding. While this doesn’t eliminate funding for these areas, it gives districts greater flexibility to right size spending according to their needs while reducing state restrictions and reporting requirements.
In summary, this bill represents a compromise, reallocating a small portion of discretionary funding to better support specific student populations while increasing district spending flexibility. However, districts and charter schools with fewer high-need students will receive less funding. The proposal’s success ultimately depends on the legislature’s willingness to approve the SDE budget request with additional discretionary funding to address these shortfalls.
