On the one hand, Idaho school districts continue to rely on voter-approved supplemental levies — and more than ever.

On the other hand, property owners are having to shell out less money to cover these levies.

That’s because a 2023 property tax relief law is covering more than one fifth of the statewide supplemental levy bill.

Let’s take a dive into the latest Idaho Department of Education numbers.

The rising supplemental levy bill

Idaho districts will spend a record $227.4 million in supplemental levies this year. Supplemental levies generally run one to two years, and districts can spend the money on  anything from salaries and benefits to textbooks to extracurricular activities.

According to state reports, last year’s grand total on supplemental levies came to about $222 million.

And supplemental levies are almost as widespread as ever. In all, 87 of Idaho’s 115 school districts will have a levy on the books this year. Over the past decade, that number has ranged from 86 districts to 94.

Here are the five largest supplemental levies for this year:

• Coeur d’Alene: $25 million.
• Lewiston: $18 million.
• Nampa: $14.78 million.
• West Ada: $13.85 million.
• Lake Pend Oreille: $12.7 million.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, the Mackay district has the smallest supplemental levy in the state, at $85,000.

The declining property tax bill

Now the math gets more interesting.

Local property taxpayers will wind up paying $180 million on supplemental levies. The state will pay the remaining $47.4 million.

That’s the result of House Bill 292, a massive and complicated property tax relief law passed in 2023.

The law creates a new School District Facilities Fund, a state fund designed to offset voter-approved school tax measures. The Legislature put $203 million into this fund this year. School districts receive their share based on average daily student attendance.

Under the law, districts are first required to use the fund to pay down building bond issues. After that, districts can use their funding to whittle away at supplemental levies.

Sixty districts are doing just that, to varying degrees.

West Ada is using $11.9 million of state money to cover almost all of its supplemental levy.

State funding will zero out the supplemental levies in 10 districts: Council, Butte County, Mackay, Preston, Emmett, Cottonwood, Sugar-Salem, Payette, Buhl and Weiser.

The policy debate

HB 292 was billed as a first step to reduce — and perhaps, eventually, to eliminate — bonds and levies.

And since its passage, HB 292 has cut the property tax bill for supplemental levies.

• In 2022-23, before the law passed, property owners were on the hook for $217.5 million for supplemental levies.
• In 2023-24, the first year the law was on the books, this property tax obligation dropped to $196.9 million, with the state picking up the remaining $25.1 million.
• That sets the stage for this year, when property taxpayers will cover $180 million in supplemental levies.

But while the property tax obligation has decreased, by 17% in two years, many school district leaders say supplemental levies are no longer supplemental in nature. Instead, they say, the levies are needed to cover essential programs and expenses.

In November, 25 school districts sought supplemental levies. Twenty-two received the majority support needed to pass.