The Idaho public school funding formula is being reviewed by a legislative committee to identify what is working and what is not.

The Public School Funding Formula Committee met with school board members and superintendents Monday to talk about the issues currently facing North Idaho schools.

The committee is comprised of senators, representatives, Dr. Linda Clark from the Idaho State Board of Education, and Sherri Ybarra, superintendent of the Idaho State Board of Education.

Most school district representatives presented similar problems: Special education is underfunded; attendance-based funding should be changed to enrollment-based funding; and schools don’t get enough money to pay all their classified staff, such as bus drivers, crossing guards, counselors and teacher assistants.

Brian Wallace, finance director for the Coeur d’Alene School District, said his district gets special education funding for 5.5 percent of its enrollment, when about 12 percent of the student population needs special education.

“Some of those costs are non-negotiable,” he said. “We have a number of kids that require a one-on-one paraprofessional.”

Some legislators were surprised to hear about 50 percent of many districts’ staff are classified employees. All North Idaho districts said the funding formula did represent this ratio.

Transportation and facility funding were other areas where a lot of districts are seeking help.

The Coeur d’Alene School District said it needs to buy about five new buses every year to maintain its fleet, and each new bus costs about $100,000. The state doesn’t fully fund transportation, which leaves the district with significant costs.

The committee asked district representatives for suggestions on how to improve the funding formula. The majority of the feedback was to make the formula flexible and to make sure any changes did not have repercussions on smaller, rural districts.

Jennifer Johnson, business manager of the Moscow School District, explained that if one district was doing well meeting technology standards but needed money to use elsewhere, that district should be able to use the “technology money” where they needed it.

Wallace added as far as funding rural districts go, “... a ZIP code should not determine the quality of education in this state.”

Rep. Wendy Horman, the co-chair of the committee, said she really valued the round table setting of the discussion.

“I thought it was a really effective way to put a face on the districts and issues,” she said. “They could express their concerns and we could ask questions to better understand them.”

Later in the evening three community members gave their input during the public comment part of the meeting.

Penni Cyr, president of the Idaho Education Association (the teacher’s union) expressed concern about how changes might occur. She said any changes should be made slowly and districts should be given enough time to implement them.

She also pressed the importance of equity.

“Funding rural districts is more expensive,” Cyr said. “To be equitable, that needs to be taken into consideration.”

Robin Stanley, a retired superintendent from the Mullan School District, also expressed concern for rural districts if any changes were to be made.

Stanley said he spent 15 years teaching junior high school, four years as a high school principal and 27 years as a superintendent. He said he also participated in creating the existing funding formula.

“A lot of people say the reason it needs to change is because it’s over 20 years old and no longer reflects the needs of school districts,” he said. “That is incorrect. It was built to include unknown needs. The issue is that the Legislature underfunded it by $10 million… Why is there a great need to change it? It just needs more money.”

Nancy Larsen, a curriculum director for the Kellogg and Wallace School Districts, pleaded her case for rural districts.

“Our buildings are old and are going to need more than just band-aids. The tax bases have eroded in these communities and the districts can’t always pass the levies they need,” she said. “Please don’t put rural schools at a disadvantage: Look at equity, not equality.”

Senator Chuck Winder, co-chair of the committee, closed the full day meeting by assuring those in attendance that the committee doesn’t have the intention to throw out the existing funding formula, rather just look at it.

“I don’t think anyone here is saying that we want to hurt the rural schools,” he said. “We’re not here to undermine the system, we’re here to listen and we want to hear what stakeholders have to say.”