JFAC drafting public school budget with 7.4% increase

The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee is drafting a public school budget with a 7.4 percent increase in state general funds, reports Clark Corbin of Idaho Education News. That’s slightly below the 7.9 percent boost Gov. Butch Otter recommended, and state schools Superintendent Sherri Ybarra’s proposed 7.6 percent increase. “But all the elements are all in it,” JFAC Co-Chair Maxine Bell, R-Jerome, told Corbin. “There is a little difference in the line items. But there is a big increase and it’s an active budget.”

A 7.4 percent increase would match last year’s 7.4 percent boost in general funds for public schools; K-12 education is Idaho’s largest general fund expense. JFAC is scheduled to set the public school budget on Monday, though some pieces still will be missing, as they’re working their way through the Legislature, and will be addressed with trailer bills. You can read Corbin’s full report here .