It will probably take three years, at least, to rewrite Idaho’s aging and long-debated K-12 funding formula.
State superintendent Debbie Critchfield hopes to have a funding formula “framework” to present to legislators in January. But she said she wants to gradually move away from the old formula, while ramping up a new one.
“A three-year phase-in is the most likely (approach),” Critchfield told State Board of Education colleagues Thursday morning.
Idaho’s complicated K-12 funding formula has remained largely intact since 1994, and it uses a calculus based largely on classroom attendance. Education leaders and lawmakers have spent about a decade discussing a rewrite — and providing additional dollars to support special education and at-risk students.
This year, election politics also loom over the debate: Critchfield is seeking a second term as state superintendent, opposed by Democratic nominee Becky Sundin Mitchell and Constitution Party candidate Teresa Roundy.
But when she discussed the funding formula issue Thursday, Critchfield did not sound like a candidate who will appear on the Nov. 3 ballot. She sounded like someone fully expecting to work on the issue next year. She said she is working with stakeholders to work through the complexities of a rewrite. She dismissed the notion that she already has a “secret formula” in hand. Instead, she said she is in “active pursuit” of a formula to bring to the 2027 Legislature.
Only once has a funding formula rewrite passed even one chamber of the Legislature. In 2025, the Senate passed a rewrite, endorsed by Critchfield, but the House did not take it up.
Following Critchfield’s presentation, State Board President Kurt Liebich seemed to allude to that long history — succinctly.
“Good luck,” he said, to laughter from other board members.
Other board business
The State Board met Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning at Lewis-Clark State College. Here are some thumbnails from the meetings:
A pause on three-year plans. After a lengthy discussion that stretched across two days, the State Board punted on long-term plans that outline future growth at the colleges and universities.
The board voted to approve a one-year plan for the eight colleges and universities. The board delayed voting on three-year plans until its December meeting.
The rolling, three-year plans set a roadmap — as the colleges and universities list the academic programs they plan to launch, and when they plan to launch them. The three-year plans aren’t binding; the State Board votes separately to approve any new academic programs.
But during Wednesday’s meeting, several board members were uneasy with the roadmap before them.
One concern was with the overall expansion of the higher education system. According to State Board staff reports, the eight colleges and universities are looking at adding 277 new degrees, certificates and career-technical programs by 2030. During that same time, they plan to drop 93 programs.
Board members unanimously approved the one-year plan — but several noted that the real work is still ahead of them.
“I think this is a good interim solution,” board member Pete Koehler said.
Rural healthcare — and education. About $20.5 million of federal rural healthcare grants will go into education.
This includes $8 million for rural residencies for medical school graduates — in hopes of enticing more young doctors to practice in Idaho. The remaining $12.5 million will go into a suite of programs — called a “healthcare career advancement track.” The overarching goal is to route more students into healthcare careers, especially in rural Idaho.
Most of the career advancement projects are collaborative. For example, Idaho’s eight colleges and universities will team up on a statewide effort to ramp up rural clinical placements. Another joint project will take mobile simulation labs into rural Idaho to enhance clinical training.
On Wednesday, State Board Executive Director Jennifer White praised colleges and universities for working together on the career advancement programs.
The $20.5 million will come from Idaho’s $186 million in Rural Health Transformation Program grants — the first phase in the five-year federal program. But the grant program is competitive, so the feds could increase — or decrease — Idaho’s future payments.
And this, in turn, could affect funding for the career advancement programs, White told board members Wednesday. “Continuity is not guaranteed,” she said.
LC State name change update. After meeting this summer with key legislators, Lewis-Clark State College President Cynthia Pemberton said she is “cautiously optimistic” about the prospects for her top Statehouse priority.
Pemberton said she would again push for a name change that would make LC State the state’s fourth full-fledged university. The State Board endorsed the change in 2025, and the Senate unanimously passed a name change bill in 2026. However, the bill stalled in the House. (Click here for our in-depth watchdog report on the bill’s demise.)
Pemberton spent a morning this summer hosting Rep. Dale Hawkins on campus. Hawkins, R-Fernwood, held the Senate-passed bill in his House Education Committee, killing it for the session. Pemberton has also discussed the bill with House Speaker Mike Moyle, R-Star, who also is skeptical about the name change.
Despite the House resistance, Pemberton said enthusiasm about a name change is growing on campus. “Giving up is not part of our DNA,” Pemberton told the board Wednesday.
One questionable question. On Thursday, the State Board redlined one question in the Idaho Standards Achievement Test in science.
The details are under wraps — private vendors write the standardized tests, and the contents are proprietary. But an Idaho Department of Education “fairness review” committee flagged one question, Critchfield said, concluding that a student’s personal beliefs might lead them to an incorrect answer.
The State Board voted unanimously to remove the question.
More reading: The State Board on Wednesday approved an $18 million deficit spending plan for Boise State athletics. Click here for our full report.
