EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the final installment in a three-part series examining public school funding in Idaho.

Sen. Brent Hill, the top-ranking member of the Idaho Senate, said he wishes state leaders had spent more money on education.

Hill, a Rexburg Republican serving as senate president pro tempore, said lawmakers strive to provide centralized funding for schools in an equal way.

Idaho's Constitution requires lawmakers "establish and maintain a general, uniform and thorough system of public, free common schools."

With the 2013 legislative session approaching, Hill is the latest high-ranking official to weigh in on the school funding riddle.

For the most part, Republican lawmakers interviewed for this series of articles acknowledge difficulties or problems with school funding. But they qualify their answers by saying legislators are "doing their best" while faced with difficult financial circumstances.

On Dec. 12, Gov. Butch Otter said the state "probably" isn't meeting its constitutional duties for education.

And Otter wasn't alone in addressing lawmakers' duties to students and schools.

In 2005, the Idaho Supreme Court ruled the "school funding system is simply not sufficient to carry out the Legislature's duty under the Constitution."

The 2005 ruling was not the only time Idaho judges have ruled the education system is lacking.

Hill said he has thought long and hard about that responsibility, but said questions about the equity and adequacy requirements are "not easy to answer."

"I don't believe Idaho has ever been overly generous when it comes to public education," Hill said. "I have always felt like we should fund public education as best we can. Since I've been in, I think this Legislature has done a pretty good job of that.

"Has it been enough? I wish we could put more (money) in that direction."

Mike Ferguson, the state's former chief economist, said lawmakers have fallen down on their duties to schools by approving budget cuts and tax cuts and shifting the tax formula.

Ferguson, director of the nonprofit Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy, said residents have taken it upon themselves to make up for state shortfalls by passing supplemental or override levies in 84 of the 115 school districts. He said the supplemental levies reveal inequalities in school funding because some districts have failed to raise levies while larger, richer districts are able to raise much more than small rural districts.

"What I would say is 'kudos' to voters in school districts who stepped up and are doing that extra effort, basically self-imposing the most-hated tax on themselves," Ferguson said. "But the problem is they should not be put in that position in the first place. The Constitution says it is up to the Legislature to fund a general, uniform system of education - not the voters of a school district."

Hill agrees some districts have been more successful than others in raising supplemental money, but voters have been allowed to pass supplemental levies since well before the recession and recent round of spending cuts.

"I wonder, when he points to supplemental and override levies regarding inequality between districts, does he want to make us pass a law where voters can't pass supplementals?" Hill said.

Sen. Dean Mortimer, an Idaho Falls Republican who sits on the education and budget-writing committees, said the constitutionality issue is a legal question for the courts, which he is not qualified to answer. However, Mortimer said lawmakers have to juggle multiple legal and constitutional requirements - including passing a balanced budget, paying for transportation, funding schools and providing law enforcement.

"I believe the state of Idaho is doing all that they can do and is contributing heavily to education," Mortimer said.

Retired Rep. Wendy Jaquet, a Ketchum Democrat who served nine terms, agreed with Ferguson. Although Jaquet said increasing the sales tax rate would hurt too many people, she said lawmakers should have done more to find revenue to pay for schools.

Jaquet teaches courses at Boise State University and served on the budget-writing committee with Mortimer and Idaho Falls Rep. Jeff Thompson.

"I really tie the level of education excellence to our state's ability to move forward in creating jobs and economic development," Jaquet said. "If you short-change that little girl in an overcrowded classroom with 33 students now, she may never really catch up again."

Incoming Republican Rep. Wendy Horman of Idaho Falls also serves on the Bonneville Joint School District 93 Board of Trustees. Although she said education is a top priority, Horman said spending isn't the only way to gauge success. Horman also said she won't specifically push to restore the more than $100 million funding gap between this year's budget and the 2009 budget.

"We need to look forward to what kids need now and how to modernize the system to meet their needs," Horman said. "I don't think there is any reason a number in the past should define the criteria for how we fund education."

Instead of tracking cuts and spending, Horman said the effectiveness of schools should be based on results such as graduation rates, job placement or test scores.

Regardless, Ferguson said money and appropriate spending need to be a part of that formula for Idaho's school to succeed and meet the constitutional standards.

"Sure, we can squander it if we spend money ineffectively," Ferguson said. "But the bottom line is we can't have an education system without spending money to buy current textbooks and pay teachers a reasonable wage that will bring quality people into the profession."

Thompson, a Republican who is beginning his third term, said one of his biggest priorities will be restoring about $12.6 million in money for teachers' salaries that was "frozen" during two years of the Great Recession.

In preparation for the 2013 session, Thompson and other lawmakers met Tuesday and Wednesday with eastern Idaho school administrators to hear their concerns.

"The comment I heard from a lot of educators and teachers is they want to make (schools) whole before we do any of these other things," Thompson said.