LJSD Financial Facts

The Idaho State Legislature began the Public School Budget Hearing on March 4th. This process is pivotal for all school districts in Idaho as the approved Public School Budget provides Districts with the necessary information to forecast our anticipated revenue for the next year.

We are deep into the budget process for next school year. We are required to have our budget information posted to the public at least two weeks ahead of the June 11, 2025 budget hearing. This year, the budget process is a little more challenging as we need to build two separate budgets, dependent on the outcome of the upcoming supplemental levy vote on the May 20th ballot.

Numerous Idaho codes dictate the annual budget hearing process for Public School Districts.

• April 30th - We are required to notify the County Clerks in Kootenai and Bonner Counties of our budget hearing date (IC 63-802A).
• 10 Days Before Budget Hearing - A budget hearing notice, including the required Four-Year Summary Form, must be published. (IC 33-402 & 33-801).
• No later than 28 days before our regular July meeting - A public budget hearing to present the budget for the next school year must be held. The budget must be adopted at the public budget hearing, or at a special meeting no later than 14 days after the budget hearing. (IC 33-801).
• 21 days or less after the budget is adopted - We must submit a signed copy of our budget packet to the Idaho Department of Education. This must be submitted no later than July 15th. (IC 33-707(7)).
• Online Budget - The approved annual budget should be posted on the school district website within 30 days after its approval. (IC 33-357 (3)(b)(ii)(2))

We include our approved annual budget on our Financial Transparency website. It is presented in the format dictated by the State of Idaho Department of Education.

This month I want to discuss our 200-series funds, which are classifed as "Special Revenue Funds". These funds are designated for specific revenues sources (excluding trusts and major capital projects) that are legally restricted for particular purposes.

For instance, Fund 220 is the Forest Reserve Fund. This fund collects revenue from the Idaho State Treasurer's Office and the U.S. Treasury for Federal Forest Reserves. The revenue from this fund can accumulate year over year and may be used, at the Board's discretion, for purchasing school sites, constructing or remodeling school buildings, and funding current-year expenses.

The District currently has the following Special Revenue Funds:

• 220 - Forest Funds - Federal
• 231 - Facility Funds - Local
• 232 - BASE - Local
• 242 - Literacy - State
• 243 - Career Technical Education - State
• 245 - Technology - State
• 246 - Safe & Drug-Free Schools - State
• 248 - Misc. Grants - Local
• 249 - SRO Grant - State
• 251 - Title I - Federal
• 257 - Special Education - School Age - Federal
• 258 - Special Education - Preschool - Federal
• 260 - Medicaid - Federal
• 261 - Title IV - Federal
• 263 - Career Technical Education - Federal
• 265 - Special Education - Mini-Grant - Federal
• 271 - Title II - Federal
• 290 - Child Nutrition - Federal

Definitions for each of these funds are available in our Monthly Financial Reports on the District Transparency website.

We welcome any questions you may have regarding District finances. Please use this link to submit your questions for future newsletters.

Thank you for the questions submitted so far. Questions about board decisions will need to be addressed by the Board of Trustees or the Superintendent. Due to legal restrictions and confidentiality laws, questions concerning specific personnel will not be answered.

We have the levy to support smaller class sizes. The rate the state uses is calculated for what class size?

• We have a levy in place to support smaller class sizes. However, the rate the state uses for funding is not calculated based on class sizes.
• To clarify this, I’ll briefly explain the state funding formula. The foundation of this formula is the assignment of "support units" to each school district or charter. It's important to note that the state does not consider class sizes in its calculations.
• The factors that determine support units include:
• Attendance: Districts are funded based on average daily attendance.
• Grade Levels: Different grade bands (kindergarten, elementary, secondary, exceptional, alternative) receive different funding amounts per student.
• This overview touches on just a few aspects of the complex state funding formula, but it highlights the key factors: student attendance and grade level. Essentially, you can think of a support unit as equivalent to a classroom. However, this approach does not take into account the number of schools within a district or their maximum capacity.
• The Lakeland community has consistently supported small neighborhood schools. This model requires us to employ more teachers than the state allocates through its support unit formula, resulting in more classrooms spread across our small neighborhood schools than what the state funds.

Contact: jessica.grantham@lakeland272.org