Boise trustees have OK’d a big increase in the school property tax rate — an estimated 18%.

Boise will collect an additional $30.4 million in property taxes this year. School officials say the district needs this money to continue important programs, such as all-day kindergarten and free breakfasts for all K-12 students, despite state and federal funding uncertainties.

The increase widens a stark property tax gap between Idaho’s two largest school districts — Boise and West Ada — and illustrates dramatic policy differences between the adjoining Treasure Valley districts.

Boise’s tax bill

First, here are the bottom-line impacts, for the district and for taxpayers.

The state’s second-largest district will bring in $156.4 million in property taxes this year, up from $126 million a year a

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