Some school districts are ‘scrambling’ for maintenance money after HB 521

Ryan Suppe, Idaho Ed News

Some schoolhouse districts are struggling to screen regular attraction costs — moreover arsenic nan authorities is delivering nan largest azygous finance successful schoolhouse accommodation successful Idaho history.

House Bill 521, enacted this twelvemonth by Gov. Brad Little and nan Legislature, directed an further $1.5 cardinal successful authorities backing to schools complete nan adjacent decade. The biggest portion is simply a $1 cardinal authorities bond, which will soon beryllium divided betwixt schoolhouse districts for superior projects.

But HB 521 had immoderate springiness and immoderate take. The authorities eliminated August elections for schoolhouse districts, and it created caller rules governing minimum instructional hours and days. The measure besides altered nan measurement schoolhouse districts person lottery backing — successful a measurement that’s leaving districts cash-strapped successful nan short term.

The accommodation measure rerouted astir $50 cardinal successful yearly lottery dividends to a restrictive spot taxation alleviation money that must beryllium utilized to salary disconnected section bonds and levies. Many districts utilized nan lottery money for regular upkeep, from asphalt repairs to caller ray bulbs, arsenic good arsenic attraction unit salaries. Those costs tin now only beryllium utilized for indebtedness repayment, and that’s near a imaginable $30 cardinal spread successful backing for day-to-day upkeep.

The Ririe School District, for instance, is short astir $100,000, according to Superintendent Jeff Gee. That’s a important chunk for nan 700-student, eastbound Idaho territory pinch a full fund astir $2.7 million.

“We’re benignant of scrambling, honestly, to fig retired really we’re going to move guardant pinch that,” Gee told Idaho Education News.

Lottery money shifted to spot taxation alleviation fund

For decades, authorities lottery gross has benefitted nan nationalist schoolhouse system. And it will proceed to spell to schools, isolated from it will now money spot taxation alleviation alternatively than much contiguous attraction needs.

Since its inception successful 1988, Idaho Lottery gross has had 2 beneficiaries: K-12 nationalist schools and nan state’s imperishable building fund. The second relationship finances state-owned buildings, including those astatine colleges and universities.

In 2009, authorities lawmakers divided nan nationalist schoolhouse dividends betwixt 2 accounts: nan nationalist schoolhouse building money and nan enslaved levy equalization fund. Districts chiefly utilized nan building money for installation upkeep, for illustration installing caller carpeting aliases filling potholes, and to salary attraction staff. The enslaved levy equalization fund, connected nan different hand, covered a information of enslaved payments for economically disadvantaged schoolhouse districts.

The authorities issues astir $80 cardinal successful lottery dividends each year. Previously, nan money was divided this way:

• 37.5%, aliases astir $30 million, to nan imperishable building money
• 37.5%, aliases astir $30 million, to nan schoolhouse territory building money
• 25%, aliases astir $20 million, to nan enslaved levy equalization fund

HB 521 eliminated nan building money and enslaved levy equalization fund, reorganizing nan lottery distribution this way:

• 62.5%, aliases astir $50 million, to nan schoolhouse territory accommodation fund
• 37.5% aliases astir $30 million, to nan imperishable building money

The schoolhouse territory accommodation money is simply a creation of House Bill 292 from nan 2023 legislative session. Designed to relieve section spot taxes, nan accommodation money directs a percent of authorities income taxation gross — and now lottery revenue, arsenic good — to schoolhouse districts for indebtedness repayment. The authorities past fiscal twelvemonth distributed $106.6 cardinal done nan accommodation fund, and nan money worked arsenic intended, reducing spot taxation bills.

Districts are required to usage nan money to salary down bonds, supplemental levies and works accommodation levies — successful that order. Proceeds from HB 521’s $1 cardinal enslaved are besides restrictive. They tin only spell toward superior projects, not regular maintenance.

Districts that don’t person outstanding indebtedness are allowed to usage nan leftover accommodation money proceeds connected regular upkeep and maintenance-related salaries, according to Scott Graf, communications head for nan Department of Education.

In July, nan politician and authorities superintendent Debbie Critchfield sent a missive to schoolhouse leaders, clarifying that nan lottery costs were rolled into nan accommodation money and are now governed by its bid of uses — bonds and levies followed by maintenance.

“The privilege of that allocation is to little section taxation burdens and past let districts to usage remaining backing for regular accommodation needs,” Little and Critchfield wrote.

Facilities money will salary disconnected bonds, levies

Most of nan lottery money will now beryllium gobbled up by bonds and levies, leaving small for maintenance.

Statewide, schoolhouse districts owed $329.2 cardinal successful outstanding bonds, supplemental levies and works accommodation levies astatine nan extremity of fiscal twelvemonth 2024, which wrapped-up successful June. That full was calculated aft nan $106.6 cardinal from nan accommodation money went out.

HB 521, and a follow-up bill, promised schoolhouse districts that they’ll get what they expected to person done nan enslaved levy equalization money successful nan adjacent 2 fiscal years. That money was going to enslaved payments either way, but moving nan lottery money from nan building money to nan accommodation money has blown holes successful section budgets. About $30 cardinal statewide must now beryllium spent connected indebtedness payments alternatively than regular maintenance.

For Ririe, nan $100,000 successful lottery costs financed half of its attraction supervisor’s salary. It besides paid for sidewalk repairs, caller carpeting and heating and aerial conditioning filters, among different things. But nan territory successful May secured a $1.5 cardinal bond, and each of its lottery costs will spell toward paying that off, leaving thing for attraction costs, according to nan superintendent.

“I deliberation nan bosom was successful nan correct spot erstwhile they were trying to fig retired ways to thief america pinch our buildings,” Gee said. “But I do deliberation location were a batch of unintended consequences that deed nan mini schoolhouse districts.”

Trustees telephone for restoring lottery funds

Some schoolhouse trustees person called connected authorities leaders to return a measurement backmost from nan HB 521 backing shifts.

Trustees from nan Twin Falls School District crafted a little solution urging nan Idaho School Boards Association to activity pinch lawmakers connected a scheme that would reconstruct backing for “necessary, regular and ongoing maintenance” utilizing lottery dollars aliases different source.

“Districts person mislaid an important gross watercourse utilized for wide maintenance,” nan solution says.

ISBA members are scheduled to ballot connected nan solution astatine their yearly gathering successful November. Adopting it would make nan solution portion of nan defense group’s charismatic level heading into nan 2025 legislative session. ISBA’s executive committee recommended that it pass.

That position won’t beryllium backed by nan authorities superintendent, astatine slightest adjacent session. Critchfield precocious told Idaho Education News that she doesn’t support making changes to HB 521 earlier nan scope of its effect is amended understood.

“We haven’t moreover distributed $1 of that money,” she said by phone. “I don’t want to jump nan weapon and say, ‘We’ve sewage 10 problems we request to fix.’ That’s difficult for maine to support earlier we’ve moreover really fixed districts immoderate of their money…Let’s spot what this first twelvemonth looks for illustration and wherever those gaps are.”

Little, meanwhile, is alert of nan concerns and discussing them pinch schoolhouse leaders and policymakers, according to Emily Callihan, communications head for nan governor’s office. Callihan touted nan $1.5 cardinal successful caller spending done nan accommodation bill, calling it nan “first large step” successful addressing accommodation needs arsenic schoolhouse enslaved measures go much difficult to pass.

“Gov. Little is alert of nan schoolhouse districts’ input and is engaged successful ongoing conversations pinch schoolhouse leaders, legislators and different stakeholders to reside nan needs successful early legislative sessions,” she said by email.