Sluggish sales tax collections cut into school property tax relief

Idaho school districts will receive $180 million to offset local, voter-approved property taxes.

That’s less than the Legislature earmarked for property tax relief this year. But it’s also more than the schools received last year.

The money, distributed Thursday, is a byproduct of House Bill 292 , a convoluted property tax relief law passed in 2023. The law siphons state dollars into a fund to pay down school bonds and levies.

The state will put $180.8 million into the school district facilities fund this year.

Lawmakers had appropriated $246.4 million for the fund. Payments will come up short, however, and the main reason is becoming familiar. State tax collections, which account for part of the money for the fund, are falling below projections.

When lawmakers earmarked $246.4 mill