School districts must pay their share of the $13 million Idaho School Benefit Trust shortfall by Sept. 30 or employee medical claims will go unpaid. 

The Coeur d'Alene, Lakeland and Post Falls school districts are all members of the Idaho School Benefit Trust, which has run out of funds and cannot pay medical claims, according to Idaho EdNews.

"The Trust never notified any of the participating districts that it was running short," Lakeland Superintendent Jake Massey said in an email sent to staff and obtained by The Press. "There was no clear accounting over the past years and no indication whatsoever that the Trust was in trouble."

The Department of Insurance found that the Idaho School Benefit Trust became insolvent on June 23, according to Idaho EdNews, and notified school districts of the shortfall on July 14 but did not disclose a dollar amount.

Blue Cross of Idaho plans to loan the trust $11.9 million to cover unpaid claims for the 2025-26 benefit year, but only if member school districts commit to repaying $13 million, which includes the $11.9 million shortfall plus 6% interest.

The trust notified member school districts on Aug. 20 of the amount they would be expected to pay. Districts could make a lump-sum payment or a series of monthly payments with interest. The deadline to choose a payment option was Sept. 10.

The Lakeland School District will pay a lump sum of about $645,000, Superintendent Jake Massey said. 

The Post Falls School District owes about $742,000 and also elected the lump-sum payment option, Post Falls Chief Financial Officer Josh Gittel said. 

The Coeur d'Alene School District owes $1.8 million, which the board agreed to pay through a series of monthly payments of $51,000, according to Coeur d’Alene School District Director of Community Relations Stefany Bales.

All three districts agreed to make the payment "under protest," preserving the option to seek reimbursement later.

"We still didn't have a whole lot of information," Post Falls School District CFO Josh Gittel said. "We wanted to make sure we had the option."

School districts plan to use reserve funds, set aside for unforeseen circumstances like this, to cover the deficit.

"It's not ideal, but this is why we have it," Gittel said.

Gittel said he is not concerned about the Post Falls School District's ability to cover the payment. He said $123,000 of the payment will come from tightening this year's budget, while the remainder will come from reserve funds.

"This shouldn't impact staff at all," Massey said. "We are ensuring their claims will still be covered."

Massey expects the Department of Insurance investigation to conclude later this month, providing more insight into the causes of the shortfall and potentially offering reimbursement options.

"The question is, what is next year going to look like for insurance?" Gittel said.

Sept. 1 marked the first day of the 2026-27 benefit year, which includes a 19.5% rate increase for member employers, according to Idaho EdNews.