House votes to restore school protections

BOISE (AP) — The Idaho House voted 62-1 to restore funding protections for schools with enrollment declines, while shifting the cost of the program to the districts.

Republican Rep. Mack Shirley says "the beauty" of the legislation is that it's self-funded, with districts each giving up a portion of their per-student funding to pay for the program.

Idaho previously gave shrinking school districts a one-year extension of 99 percent of the funding that came with a departed student. But those protections were eliminated in reforms backed by public schools chief Tom Luna, who said the state was giving schools money for "ghost students" a year after they'd left their classrooms.

The bill that passed the House on Monday would restore those protections at 97 percent, with districts covering the expense.