The Idaho Department of Education has accepted the first batch of plans from school districts across the state, clearing the way for them to receive new school facilities funding.

Lapwai School District was one of the first two districts to have its 10-year facilities plans accepted by the state in a new process that is the result of the centerpiece school facilities bill from the 2024 legislative session.

“We were ready to submit prior to the tool being open,” Lapwai School District Superintendent David Aiken told the Idaho Press.

The plan was approved in late July along with the plan for the Sugar-Salem School District in east Idaho. Lapwai, in Nez Perce County near Lewiston, is expected to receive a total of nearly $1.9 million to be used over 10 years.

The state used sales tax revenue to go out for a bond in order to make $1 billion available to districts over 10 years. Districts had the option to receive a lump sum payment or annual payments over the decade, but most districts opted for the lump sum option, Idaho Education News reported.

All of Idaho’s school districts face steep challenges when it comes to maintaining and upgrading facilities, with an estimated statewide maintenance backlog of nearly $900 million. Each of these needs are driven by different factors such as growth or an inability to pass levies and bonds.

Lapwai is unique in that it is not growing or shrinking — its population has had just modest growth over the past 10 years — and it cannot rely much on levies and bonds, because it lies on an Indian reservation and much of the land is tax-exempt. For the eight districts in Idaho that either are on reservation land or a military base, the federal government provides impact aid funding.

In the past, Lapwai has tried for operating levies; the last attempt was in 2014, which resulted in a voter rejection and the district shifting to online P.E. classes because there wasn’t enough money for a gym teacher, the Lewiston Tribune reported.

About 31% of Lapwai School District’s budget comes from federal impact aid, but much of that money goes toward personnel, leaving little left for facility maintenance. The funding is also inconsistent because it relies on annual congressional approval, said Aiken, who also serves as the Idaho State Chairperson of the National Association of Federally Impacted Schools.

“Some of the needs listed in our 10-year plan have been on our wish list the entire time I’ve been a superintendent, so approximately 15 years,” Aiken said.

One of the top priorities will be a new HVAC system for the elementary school, he said. Lapwai Elementary School was built in the 1980s, and the hope is to upgrade and modernize much of its infrastructure.

“We’ve never had adequate cooling in our gymnasium at the elementary school,” he said.

In the summer, the aging air conditioning system struggles to keep up and frequently requires fixing. Aiken is hoping that updating the system will reduce some of these maintenance costs in the future.

The plan calls for spending $442,000 in fiscal year 2025, $167,000 in fiscal year 2026 and $150,000 in 2027 on HVAC, according to the plan.

The district also plans to spend $125,000 to replace some of the roofing at the elementary school.

The first fiscal year of maintenance is expected to total $659,000 at the elementary school, and $137,000 for the middle-high school.

The school modernization money, like other school funding from the state, will be distributed based on average daily attendance, or ADA. The state shifted back to the ADA distribution formula last year, after having used enrollment-based funding during the pandemic public emergency. Many districts saw a severe drop in funding due to the change.

Aiken said that, for Lapwai it wasn’t “as big of a hit as predicted.”

“However, it is an item of concern,” he said.

The district is prioritizing improving average daily attendance by incentivizing and rewarding regular and on-time attendance from its students, he said. Each school has an attendance clerk, who communicates with families if their child isn’t at school that day.

Another priority is to enhance the middle-high school’s career and technical education offerings by leveraging other funds the district has received for this purpose. The Idaho Career Ready Students Council awarded the district around $1.2 million for a shop facility, which will be used along with a $51,200 material donation from the Caldwell-based R&M Steel Company.

The school facilities bill, which did other things such as cut income taxes and change the way the head of the State Board of Education is selected, eliminated other existing funds to help create the School Facilities Modernization Fund.

Some of the funds were also diverted into a property tax relief bill created in 2023 that provides money to school districts to pay off bonds and levies.

Previous funding mechanisms included the bond levy equalization program and a funding formula that diverted Lottery proceeds; Aiken said those sources fluctuated so much, he couldn’t say how the new school facilities amount compared to what the district would have received from them.

He also said the process of creating the required 10-year maintenance plan was “time-consuming” but “meaningful” for the district. The state Department of Education also provided ample support in answering questions, he said.

“We really organized around what our facilities need,” he said.

The district doesn’t anticipate any new construction in the next 10 years, and really prioritized “critical maintenance and safety” updates, according to Lapwai’s plan.

“It’s good news for us,” Aiken said about the projects that will be funded through the new source. “It’s been a blessing for us.”

Guido covers Idaho politics for the Lewiston Tribune, Moscow-Pullman Daily News and Idaho Press of Nampa. She may be contacted at lguido@idahopress.com and can be found on Twitter @EyeOnBoiseGuido.