A bill to fund the feds’ on-again, off-again Secure Rural Schools program is on its way to President Donald Trump’s desk.
The House voted Tuesday to approve program funding through 2025-26, and provide retroactive payments for the past two years. The Senate has already approved the bill.
Idaho last received $22.8 million from the program — but that was in April 2024. About 70% of the money goes to counties and 30% to schools, which means Idaho schools received about $6.9 million from that 2024 payment.
The SRS program is designed to offset lost revenues from federal timber sales, for counties and schools alike. School districts such as Salmon, Kellogg and McCall-Donnelly have historically received some of Idaho’s largest payments.
“The SRS program is vital to maintaining schools, roads and emergency response services in rural, forested counties,” Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, said in a news release issued after the House vote. “We have a responsibility to these communities who house large swaths of untaxable federal land.”
Congress created SRS in 2000, but funding for the program has been spotty for years. Crapo and a bipartisan group of Northwest lawmakers have pushed for several years for a more stable funding source for SRS.
Congress created SRS in 2000.
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