Idaho schools chief unveils budget proposal for 2018

Idaho’s public schools chief is seeking a 6.8 percent increase in education spending for 2018.

Superintendent of Public Instruction Sherri Ybarra released her plan Friday. If approved by lawmakers in January, Idaho’s public school funding would bump up nearly $114 million more than what lawmakers allocated this year.

An ongoing key feature of Ybarra’s budget is more teacher salary funding, which is part of a five year plan to boost school employee pay. Ybarra wants $46.6 million for teacher salaries, which would boost pay for new teachers to $35,800 a year.

For operational funds, Ybarra requested roughly $27,600 per classroom to be used at their own discretion.

The proposal now goes before Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter, legislative leadership and other stakeholders for review. Otter will also submit his own education budget for legislative consideration.