More than three-quarters of Idaho school districts continue to rely on supplemental levies to pay for salaries, extracurricular activities and other expenses.

But the cost to property owners is the lowest since 2012.

That’s because a 2023 property tax relief law is covering about 35% of the supplemental levy bill statewide.

Here’s a look at the latest numbers:

Supplemental levy bill grows

Idaho voters approved $243.3 million to be collected in supplemental levies for fiscal year 2026. That’s up from last year’s $227.4 million.

Supplemental levies are generally for one to two years. Districts can spend the money on anything from salaries to sports.

They continue to be widespread, with 89 of Idaho’s 115 districts having a levy on the books this fiscal year. That number has ranged from 86 to 94 in the last decade.

Here are the 10 largest supplemental levies this fiscal year:

• Lewiston: $26.2 million.
• Coeur d’Alene: $25 million.
• West Ada: $13.8 million.
• Nampa: $13.8 million.
• Lake Pend Oreille: $12.7 million.
• Moscow: $11.5 million.
• Boise: $10.7 million.
• Pocatello: $8.3 million.
• Idaho Falls: $8 million.
• Lakeland: $7.5 million.

The smallest levy is in Mackay at $85,000, though some districts do not have levies.

Property tax collection shrinks

The amount to be collected from property owners during the 2026 fiscal year is $158.1 million, $85.2 million less than what voters approved. That’s up from the $47.4 million the state covered last year.

The state pays the difference due to House Bill 292, a complex property tax relief law passed in 2023.

Districts get a portion of the allotted state funds based on average daily student attendance. That money must first be used to pay down building bond issues, then the funds can be used to pay down supplemental levies.

Sixty-three districts are using the funds to reduce the levy cost to property owners. In districts like Wallace, the funds cover the majority of the district’s $1.7 million levy, leaving local property owners to pay under $500,000.

State funds totally cover levies in 12 districts: West Ada, Pocatello-Chubbuck, Idaho Falls, Caldwell, Cassia County, Mountain Home, Fremont County, Gooding, Snake River, Cottonwood, Council and Mackay.

See the difference between approved levy amounts and what will be collected in your district here.

Voter support for levies waned this fall

The property tax relief law was intended to reduce and possibly eliminate local school tax measures, but district leaders continue to say the supplemental levies are needed to provide the services their communities expect.

Voters, however, weren’t as supportive this fall as they have been in the past.

Earlier this month, 26 school districts ran supplemental levies. Seventeen passed, a 65% success rate.

That’s down from May, when 22 of 24 supplemental levies passed, a 92% success rate. Between 2016 and 2024, voters approved 94% of all supplemental levies across more than 500 elections.