Idaho governor vetoes change in school funding formula

BOISE (AP) — Idaho Gov. Brad Little on Wednesday vetoed legislation altering the way money is allocated to K-12 schools.

The Republican governor vetoed the measure that would have switched from an average daily attendance to student enrollment counts.

The method to allocate money has been a hot topic in the Idaho Legislature for a number of years. The coronavirus pandemic forced the issue the last several years with remote learning, and a temporary rule allowed student enrollment counts as average daily attendance was down by 15% or more.

The legislation sought to extend that through July 2025.

But Little in his veto letter said he wants to wait for additional information and explore other ways of boosting education funding.

“My preference is not to commit to this change in advance of such data for the following year,” he wrote in a veto letter.

He also noted he signed a different bill that included $23.5 million for counting students using enrollment instead of average daily attendance.

The vetoed measure passed the Senate by a large margin but was much closer in the House, with not nearly enough votes to overcome a veto.

Lawmakers are meeting Thursday, and could attempt to override the veto then.