BOISE, Idaho (KIFI) – In a year of cuts, public education in Idaho has largely been spared from budget reductions.
Local News 8 spoke with Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction Debbie Critchfield about her task to request funding for public schools before the Idaho Legislature.
“We did not ask for any new dollars. In fact, back in December, I revised the budget to take new requests off and make some adjustments,” Critchfield said.
She expressed gratitude that public schools were exempted from previous cuts – including the one and two percent cuts requested Friday by the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee.
“Having any type of cuts come mid-school year would be devastating,” Critchfield said. “But moving forward we want to have some consistency.”
She said schools require consistent funding to be able to operate and provide quality education.
The 2026-2027 total budget for public education is approximately $2.8 billion, IdahoEdNews.org reports.
“We want that public schools budget to maintain current funding levels,” Critchfield said. “The Constitution does direct that the Legislature shall fund public schools, and I support that and still believe in that.”
