House Bill 639 Summary

• Appropriates $534,949,100 total for Public Schools Educational Support Program/Division of Operations for fiscal year 2015, funded from General Fund ($484,741,000), School District Building Account ($6,250,000), Public Schools Other Income ($10,500,000), Cigarette/Tobacco/Lottery Income Taxes ($2,165,700), and Public School Endowment Earnings Reserve Fund ($31,292,400).

• Amends Idaho Code Section 33-1004E to increase the base salary for classified staff from $19,058 to $19,249 for salary apportionment calculations.

• Designates $2,165,700 in tobacco, cigarette, and lottery income tax revenues as discretionary funds for school districts and charter schools with no use restrictions beyond discretionary fund rules.

• Allocates $2,500,000 for information technology staff costs, $8,000,000 for classroom technology, and $3,000,000 in one-time grants for technology pilot projects to improve student academic growth, with competitive grant awards distributed geographically and demographically.

• Grants the State Department of Education authority to transfer appropriations among five program divisions (Administrators, Teachers, Operations, Children's Programs, and Facilities) as needed to comply with school funding provisions.