IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) – Eastern Idaho is heading back to school, but things in the classroom could be different this year. This year funding has shifted from enrollment to attendance based.
“Attendance is super important not just from a funding standpoint,” said Bonneville School District 93 superintendent Scott Woolstenhulme. “One thing we talked with our teachers about is it’s really hard for us to help kids be successful, help them learn to read, help them learn all the skills and knowledge that we hope they’ll learn if they’re not in our classrooms.”
Under the new attendance-based formula, school districts are set to lose nearly $162 million in funding compared the last school year, according to Idaho Education News .
D93 will be running a supplemental levy this fall to address some of the shortfalls they, and other school districts, are experiencing.
“This year we’re great. But, we have a lot of work to do so we’re prepared for the coming years,” said Woolstenhulme. “That’s an area that parents can directly have an impact.”