School funding bill anticipated in Legislature

An actual bill to overhaul Idaho's public school funding formula could make its Statehouse debut next week, but legislators and education groups are continuing to meet behind the scenes to negotiate changes to a draft.

“A (working group) of legislators is meeting with stakeholders to talk about the funding formula and we are working on what I would describe as revisions to some of the language that is buried in there,” said House Education Committee Chairman Lance Clow, R-Twin Falls.

Clow said the group is working on “clarification of some of the things that have been brought to our attention” since Jan. 31, when legislators published a draft of the bill.

“We're eager to get something before you,” Clow said. “I hope by next week we can get an introductory bill out.”

When introduced, a funding formula bill would instantly become the most-watched education proposal of the session. In simplest terms, the proposal calls for scrapping Idaho's 25-year-old attendance-based funding model and replacing it with an enrollment-based model where money follows the student.

Education is Idaho's largest expense each year — with K-12 accounting for almost 50 percent of all general fund spending. Because of the money involved and the impact education has on all Idahoans, any change to the funding formula is being heavily scrutinized.

Quinn Perry, the Idaho School Boards Association's policy and government affairs director, said education groups and legislators met twice last week and have three additional meetings scheduled this week, starting later today.

Clow and Perry listed parties at the table: House and Senate education committee members; lawmakers from the committee that spent three summers reviewing the existing formula; staff from Gov. Brad Little's office, the State Department of Education and the State Board of Education; and representatives of ISBA, Idaho Education Association, Idaho Association of School Administrators and charter school groups.

Although some education groups expressed concern they weren't at the table to develop the original draft, Perry said the ISBA is pleased to play a role in development of the bill at this point.

“It's engaging, yes,” she said. “(The meetings) seem to be productive, though we've only had two of them.”

The Senate Education Committee is not meeting Tuesday afternoon in order to facilitate the funding formula meeting.