Millions of dollars to pour into rural Idaho with Secure Rural Schools Act
CHALLIS, Idaho (KIFI) – Millions of dollars are headed to rural Idaho counties after the Secure Rural Schools (SRS) Reauthorization Act passed Congress.
Local News 8 spoke with local county officials to learn how the program impacts rural communities across Idaho.
The Secure Rural Schools program provides vital funding for rural counties with significant swathes of public land that cannot be taxed. It was created in 2000, after declining timber harvest revenues created major funding gaps for counties with large tracts of national forest.
“I can't understate the significance of this to rural counties in Idaho. Custer County is 97 percent public lands, and we just don't have the opportunity to expand," said Custer County Commissioner William Naillon. "The income gathered from programs like these is absolutely essential in keeping our county running."
Custer County is home to beautiful stretches of forest in the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness and Sawtooth National Recreation Area. The county relies heavily on the Secure Rural Schools program to fund its schools, roads and infrastructure.
"What SRS equates to for the Lost River Highway District and the Custer County Road and Bridge is about a half $1 million each for them, and then another close to a half $1 million for School Districts 181 and 182," Naillon continued. "So it's about $1.5 million here in Custer County.”
U.S. Senators Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) led the push to reauthorize the program, which expired in 2023.
“The SRS program is vital to maintaining schools, roads and emergency response services in rural, forested counties. We have a responsibility to these communities who house large swaths of untaxable federal land," Crapo said in a recent statement. "The passage of this legislation will provide retroactive pay to counties that faced deep cuts since the program’s expiration at the end of Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 and restore funding levels for FY 2026. I continue to press for a long-term solution to provide Idaho’s county governments with more certainty.”
The last year Secure Rural Schools was authorized, in 2023, the program paid out $22.8 million to 34 Idaho counties.
Final funding will be set by a “formula that includes federal land acreage, economic activity, timber harvest levels, and other factors that vary from county to county each year,” according to Crapo's office.
The Secure Rural School Reauthorization Act also significantly impacts Fremont, Clark, Lemhi and Teton counties in eastern Idaho.
"We put it toward special projects, so if we got a grant to rebuild a bridge or stretch of road, we use that as our match to help fund those projects," said Fremont County Clerk Abbie Mace, who retired Friday after an exemplary career.
"We don’t plan on it until they [Congress] actually send the money to us, and then we open our budget. It’s never guaranteed," she said.
