Boise, ID: Increase in SPED students; drop in enrollment

June 16, 2026,  Boise, West Ada schools approve budgets amid enrollment drop | Idaho Statesman

Idaho’s two largest school districts projected dropping enrollment as they approved their budgets for next school year.

During this year’s legislative session, lawmakers made statewide cuts to try to balance the budget and prepare for a projected deficit, but they sought not to make explicit cuts to K-12 schools. Still, due to inflation and other rising costs, school districts are having to make some changes.

“The Legislature has talked a lot about how they held K-12 harmless,” Nick Smith, the Boise School District’s deputy superintendent, said during a board meeting last month. “That’s not entirely true. But in addition to being held harmless, we do have increased costs.”

The Legislature allocates funding to school districts largely based on average daily attendance. When school districts see a drop in attendance, that means they receive less funding. Both Boise and West Ada have seen their enrollment decline in recent years, and both districts are expecting another year with fewer students. Boise district officials, in part, attributed this to lower birth rates and high housing costs. . . .

During a board meeting this month, Boise School District Chief Financial Officer Sheila Kessel said the district built its budget on “maintaining student services, while making thoughtful reductions where possible.” The district is also increasing its spending on special education, a response to a growing number of students receiving special education services despite dropping enrollment overall.

The West Ada School District said funding for next fiscal year will be similar to this year’s funding, but it too is expecting a slight drop in enrollment.

Boise to increase special education classrooms

The Boise School District is expecting to have about 650 fewer students next school year, district officials said. Over the next several years, the district is predicting its enrollment will continue to drop below 20,000 students from where it stands now at about 22,000. . . .

On the other hand, the Boise School District has seen a jump in the number of students who need special education services. The district plans to add three special education teachers for new “self-contained” classrooms, three special education teachers and 10 new classroom paraprofessionals. . . .

The district said it projects its enrollment will drop by just over 200 students next school year from about 37,966 students to 37,733 students. . . .