Idaho Budget Panel Boosts School Funding by 7.4 Percent

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho's legislative budget-writing committee has approved a few more school funding bills, bringing the total K-12 budget increase to 7.4 percent for the year.

The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee approved the $9.1 million literacy initiative and a couple of much school smaller funding bills Friday. The literacy funding is intended to pay for remediation for young students who score in the lowest category on the Idaho Reading Indicator test.

The Spokesman-Review reports that local schools could decide how to provide that remediation, with full-day kindergarten among the options. The committee has allocated more than $1.9 billion for school funding this year, including more than $1.5 billion in state general funds.