Debbie Critchfield wants $20 million to help school districts and charters keep pace with inflation, and support at-risk students.

Even if the 2027 Legislature signs on, the $20 million would get carved up quickly. But the state superintendent said she prefers to enter the next session with a workable request, and not one that is immediately dismissed as “ridiculous.”

“I’d rather ask for something that I believe we can get to,” Critchfield said Wednesday.

In an EdNews interview, Critchfield discussed the 2027-28 spending request she submitted a week ago — and the political calculus that went into her budget.

All told, Critchfield is seeking more than $3.3 billion for K-12, a 3.9% increase. But her one new budget request is a $20 million slice of the pie.

She wants this increase to go into “operational” spending — commonly called discretionary funds, because districts and charters can use this line item for any purpose.

And that makes it a popular request in the K-12 community, Critchfield said Wednesday. So far, she said, she has heard only positive feedback from school administrators. “(It’s) the most flexible and customizable part of the budget for districts and charters.”

However, there also would be a lot of pressure on the $20 million.

Operational funding, now at $366 million, has essentially been frozen for three years. An increase could help address inflation.

Schools could also use the increase to cover unexpected bills from the Idaho School Benefit Trust. Districts and charters are on the hook for much of the trust’s $13 million shortfall — and as EdNews reported this week, employee medical claims could be denied if a member of the trust refuses to pay their share of the $13 million. The trust shortfall came to light in July, but Critchfield’s budget has no money to address it directly.

Lastly, the new operational money could support a rewrite of Idaho’s aging school funding formula. Idaho politicians have long discussed changes to the formula, adopted in 1994. Supporters of a rewrite, including Critchfield, want to provide extra funding to support at-risk students, such as special education students.

While $20 million won’t cover a new formula entirely, it could provide first-year funding, Critchfield said Wednesday. Dedicated dollars could smooth the transition, covering schools that would lose money under a new formula. And this would be a departure from 2025, when lawmakers debated a funding formula bill that had no dollars attached to it.

While Critchfield is pushing the $20 million line item, the Republican is seeking less money for the special education program she navigated through the 2026 Legislature. Her budget contains $1.7 million for a “high-needs” fund, for students who require full-time staff support or costly equipment.

This year’s high-needs budget is $5 million.

Critchfield’s Democratic opponent criticized the budget request last week.

“This shows such a clear lack of understanding,” Becky Sundin Mitchell wrote on her campaign’s Facebook page. “Special education needs more funding, not less.”

Like Critchfield, Sundin Mitchell says she supports a modernized funding formula. Sundin Mitchell says this rewrite must ensure “full and sustainable” special education funding. Idaho schools face an estimated $100 million special education shortfall — the gap between state and federal funding and local needs.

On Wednesday, Critchfield discussed her decision to seek reduced funding for the high-needs program, her top priority from the 2026 session.

Critchfield says she is keeping a promise to legislators — to use cash on hand for her fledgling program, rather than tapping into the state’s general fund budget. But Critchfield says she has less cash on hand. This year’s $5 million comes from interest and carryover from two accounts within the Idaho Department of Education. Next year’s $1.7 million would come from these same depleted sources.

She said she wants to adhere to that plan next year, while trying to focus the Legislature’s attention on a single new budget request: the $20 million line item.

“I didn’t want to compete with myself,” she said.

The state agency requests begin a lengthy budget-writing process — with an election smack dab in the middle.

Critchfield is seeking re-election in November, as is GOP Gov. Brad Little. The winner of the governor’s race will submit budget recommendations to the Legislature on Jan. 11, the first day of the 2027 session. From there, lawmakers will spend three months drawing up and voting on budget bills for all agencies — proposals that will then go to the governor’s desk.

The 2027-28 budget year begins on July 1.