🏛️ Issues and Advocacy Training
Courses › Idaho School Boards, Budgets, Bonds and Levies

Lesson 5 of 10 · about 24 minutes

Supplemental Levies: The Local Vote That Pays for Staff and Programs

You'll be able to

  • Explain what a supplemental levy pays for, what vote it needs and how long it can last under Idaho Code 33-802
  • Tell a two-year levy, an indefinite-term levy and a charter district levy apart
  • Read a levy ballot and check it against the disclosures required by 33-802B and 34-914
  • Turn a levy's dollar amount into a tax rate and a cost per $100,000 of taxable value, before and after state facilities money
  • Use statewide figures and recent Idaho results to put a local levy in context

Start here: the short version

  • A supplemental levy is local property tax for day-to-day school costs: teachers, aides, counselors, buses, programs. Idaho Code 33-802(3) lets a district ask for a stated dollar amount for up to two years, approved by a simple majority.
  • Elections happen only on the third Tuesday in May or the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. The next date is November 3, 2026.
  • Since 2022 the ballot must say in detail what the money buys and roughly how much goes to each item (33-802B), and the district must publish each year how it actually spent it (33-802C).
  • State facilities money now pays part of many temporary supplementals. For fiscal year 2026, Idaho Education News counted 89 of 115 districts with a levy, $243.3 million in all, with the state covering about 35 percent.

Idaho pays most of what it costs to run a public school from the state general fund, through the formula covered in lesson 4. Most districts say the formula does not cover everything they want to offer, so they ask local voters for more. The supplemental levy is how they ask. It is the most common school tax question on Idaho ballots, the one most likely to pass, and the one residents most often misunderstand, because it pays for people and programs while bonds and plant facilities levies pay for buildings.

This lesson goes deeper than the overview in Levies and Bonds in the local government course and the school funding picture in Where the Money Goes. Plant facilities and the other levies are in lesson 6; bonds are in lesson 7.

What the law says

The rule lives in Idaho Code 33-802, the section that lists every kind of levy a school board may set. Subsection (3) covers supplemental maintenance and operation levies for the ordinary, noncharter district. Its key terms:

  • A specified amount. The question asks for dollars, for example $3.2 million a year. It does not ask for a tax rate. The rate floats with property values.
  • A specified time, not over two years. One-year and two-year levies are both common. A district that wants the money longer has to come back to the voters.
  • A majority. The levy passes if more than half the district electors voting on it say yes.
  • An election under 34-106 and Title 34. The county clerk runs it on one of the two allowed dates.
  • The board can cut it. A board may reduce an approved levy by majority vote in the second year. It cannot raise it.

The words "in excess of the levy permitted by this section" carry history. Before 2006, Idaho school districts set their own maintenance and operation levies within state limits. In the 2006 special session the Legislature replaced most of that local operating tax with state money (the Tax Commission's history of this is summarized in course 35, lesson 5). What remained was the voter-approved supplemental. So for most districts, every local dollar for operations now comes through a ballot question.

What a supplemental can pay for

The statute calls these maintenance and operation levies, and the money goes into the district's general fund. That covers salaries and benefits, extra teachers to keep class sizes down, all-day kindergarten in some districts, activities and athletics, technology, curriculum, transportation, safety staff and maintenance work. Since 2022 a district must use the money only for the purposes it listed on the ballot. Idaho Code 33-802C says so in one sentence, and then requires the board to publish every year, before its regular July meeting, a summary of levy revenue and what it was used for, alongside a copy of the ballot disclosure. That annual summary is one of the best documents a resident can ask for. More on it below.

Versions of the supplemental

TypeWho may use itVoteTermStatute
Temporary supplementalAny noncharter districtMajoritySpecified, up to two years; board may reduce in year two33-802(3)
Indefinite-term supplementalDistricts with voter-approved supplementals of at least 20 percent of the general M&O fund for seven consecutive yearsMajorityNo end date; board may reduce it in any fiscal year33-802(5)
Charter district supplemental and M&O leviesCharter districts (Boise and Lewiston)Majority for a charter supplementalSet by the district's charter33-802(4) and (6)

Indefinite-term levies. Subsection (5) lets a long-time levy district stop returning to the ballot every two years. To qualify, the district must have been authorized, for at least seven consecutive years, to certify a supplemental that equaled or exceeded 20 percent of its total general maintenance and operation fund each year. The question must "clearly state the dollar amount that will be certified annually" and that the levy runs for an indefinite number of years. A majority passes it, and the board can reduce it by majority vote in any fiscal year. Under 33-911(2)(d), state facilities money may not be used to reduce an indefinite-term levy. We could not find an official list of which districts hold one, so ask your district or county clerk directly.

Charter districts. Boise and Lewiston operate under charters older than the state. The Tax Commission's 2026 school district training lists a charter maintenance and operation levy for Boise School District No. 1 alone, computed from prior-year market value times 0.00364167, and says Lewiston's charter allows special levy terms. Lewiston topped the statewide supplemental list for fiscal year 2026, at $26.2 million, according to Idaho Education News.

Example: does Sagebrush qualify for an indefinite levy?

The invented Sagebrush Joint School District has a general M&O fund of $20,000,000. Its voters have approved a supplemental every two years since 2018, each at $4,500,000 a year.

$4,500,000 / $20,000,000 = 0.225, or 22.5 percent. That clears the 20 percent bar.

Count the years: 2019 through 2025 is seven consecutive years of authorized levies at or above 20 percent. Sagebrush may now put an indefinite-term question on the ballot.

Change one fact. In 2022 the district's general fund grew to $24,000,000 while the levy stayed at $4,500,000. $4,500,000 / $24,000,000 = 18.75 percent. That year fails the test, the streak breaks, and the seven-year count starts over. Ask for the general fund totals for each year, not just the levy amounts, before accepting a claim that a district qualifies.

When the vote can happen

Idaho Code 34-106 allows elections on two dates a year: the third Tuesday in May and the Tuesday following the first Monday in November. A governing board may call an emergency election only for "a great public calamity," such as a fire, flood, storm or epidemic. Subsection (7) puts school districts under the same two dates, with no extra days. Subsection (8) says the ballot language must reach the county clerk by 5 p.m. on the tenth Friday before the election.

The calendar used to be wider. Until 2023, school districts could also hold bond and levy elections on the second Tuesday in March and the last Tuesday in August. House Bill 292 (2023) removed the March date, and House Bill 521 (2024) removed August. Fewer dates mean school questions share the ballot with larger, higher-turnout elections. They also mean a failed levy can leave a gap of about six months before the next try, which is hard for a district to manage when its fiscal year starts July 1 and staff contracts are signed in spring.

Election dateBallot language due to county clerk (5 p.m., tenth Friday before)Money usually lands in
Tuesday, November 3, 2026Friday, August 28, 2026 (passed)Fiscal year 2028 (July 2027 to June 2028), because levies certified in September 2027 are collected starting that winter
Tuesday, May 18, 2027Friday, March 12, 2027Fiscal year 2028, if the board certifies it by the September 2027 deadline
Tuesday, November 2, 2027Friday, August 27, 2027Fiscal year 2029

The timing column depends on the levy calendar in lesson 3: the board certifies its property tax budget to the county commissioners by the Thursday before the second Monday in September under 63-803 (September 10 in 2026), and property tax bills go out late in the year. Older 33-807 still says "second Monday," but 63-803 applies "notwithstanding any other provision of the law," and the Tax Commission uses the Thursday date. Check your own district's plan: some time a November vote for the next school year, some for the year after.

What must be on the ballot

34-914 and 33-802B control what voters see, and both carry the same penalty: if a court finds the district did not comply, the court must declare the result invalid.

34-914: cost and term

Idaho Code 34-914, in effect since July 1, 2021, requires a disclosure in simple language, either in the question or in an official statement on the ballot, with:

  • the purpose, the election date and the dollar amount estimated to be collected each year;
  • the estimated average annual cost in a set form: "A tax of $___ per $100,000 of taxable assessed value, per year, based on current conditions";
  • if an existing levy of the same type is expiring as the new one begins, an optional statement of what the old one costs, and then a required statement that the tax per $100,000 is either not expected to change or is expected to rise or fall by a stated amount;
  • the length of time the levy will be assessed, in months or years;
  • the expiration date of any existing levy that is mentioned; and
  • a guarded rule on state money: the ballot may mention state tax relief funds, including school district facilities funds, only if a specific dollar amount is guaranteed to the district, and then it must say "such state tax relief funds are currently only guaranteed through" a stated year.

The statement goes right above where the voter marks the ballot and must appear in the official election notice too. The ballot question may not mention any other bond, levy or matter. And under subsection (4), any district mailing to 20 or more voters, and any poster, website or social media post the district puts up about its levy, must include the cost per $100,000 and the term. The exception in subsection (1) for "33-802(4)" levies means charter district supplementals follow their charter's rules instead.

33-802B: what the money buys

Idaho Code 33-802B, added in 2022, applies to both temporary and indefinite supplementals. It requires a disclosure, separate from the question and placed immediately above it, that is in simple language and includes "a detailed description of the purposes for which the levy revenues will be used and the approximate amount of levy funds to be allocated for each purpose." The test is whether voters have fair notice of the specific items the levy will support. A ballot that says "to maintain current programs" and nothing more invites a challenge.

Example: a supplemental ballot that meets both statutes

Invented Sagebrush Joint School District No. 287, May 18, 2027.

Purposes (33-802B): 18 classroom teachers to hold K to 3 class sizes at 22 or fewer, about $1,500,000 a year; 6 counselors and 2 school safety officers, about $700,000; extracurricular activities and athletics, about $400,000; student transportation beyond state reimbursement, about $350,000; curriculum and classroom technology, about $250,000. Total $3,200,000 a year.

Official statement (34-914): Supplemental levy for maintenance and operation of the district's schools. Election May 18, 2027. Estimated to collect $3,200,000 each year for two years, fiscal years 2028 and 2029. A tax of $133.33 per $100,000 of taxable assessed value, per year, based on current conditions. The proposed levy replaces an existing levy that will expire on June 30, 2027 and that currently costs $128.00 per $100,000 of taxable assessed value. If approved, the tax is expected to increase by $5.33 per $100,000 of taxable assessed value.

Add the purpose lines: $1,500,000 + $700,000 + $400,000 + $350,000 + $250,000 = $3,200,000. They match the total, which is what a careful reader checks first.

From dollars to your tax bill

Voters approve dollars. The county turns those dollars into a rate. The board certifies the amount to the county commissioners by the Thursday before the second Monday in September (63-803; 33-807 lists the items the certification must show), the county auditor supplies the district's taxable value, and the commissioners set a levy rate that will raise the certified amount (63-803). If values rise, the same dollars spread over more value and the rate falls. If values fall, the rate rises. Either way the district collects the approved amount and no more.

Voters approve $3.2M a year Minus state SDFF $900,000 (33-911 order) Certified to county $2.3M in September (63-803) Rate on $2.4B 0.000958 $95.83 per $100k The ballot shows the full $133.33 per $100,000. The bill shows what is left after state money. Invented Sagebrush Joint School District. Taxable value $2.4 billion.

Example: the Sagebrush levy, step by step

Approved levy: $3,200,000 a year. Taxable value: $2,400,000,000.

Rate before state money: $3,200,000 / $2,400,000,000 = 0.0013333. Per $100,000: 0.0013333 x 100,000 = $133.33. That is the figure 34-914 puts on the ballot.

Sagebrush has no bonds and no 33-909 payments, so under 33-911 its School District Facilities Fund money goes to the temporary supplemental next. Say it receives $900,000.

Amount certified: $3,200,000 - $900,000 = $2,300,000. Rate: $2,300,000 / $2,400,000,000 = 0.00095833. Per $100,000: $95.83.

A home with $280,000 of taxable value (after the homeowner exemption) pays 0.00095833 x 280,000 = $268.33 a year for the levy, instead of 0.0013333 x 280,000 = $373.33. The $105.00 difference must appear on the tax notice as state relief under 33-911(4).

Now give Sagebrush a bond. If its bond payment is $1,000,000, all $900,000 goes to the bond first and none to the levy. The levy costs the full $133.33 per $100,000, and the bond levy drops instead. Same state money, different line on the bill.

State money that now pays part of the bill

The School District Facilities Fund was created by House Bill 292 in 2023 and is set out in Idaho Code 33-911. The Department of Education distributes it by August 31 each year, per pupil using average daily attendance. The statute says the money "shall be used in place of property tax levy moneys," in this order:

  1. existing school bonds issued before July 1, 2025;
  2. payments required under 33-909, the state's cooperative program for unsafe buildings;
  3. school bonds issued on or after July 1, 2025;
  4. supplemental levies under 33-802, excluding indefinite-term levies under 33-802(5);
  5. plant facilities levies under 33-804 and 33-804A;
  6. anything left over: construction, renovation, maintenance, payments on a new bond or a lease-purchase, or a reserve for future facilities.

Whatever is applied to steps 1, 3, 4 and 5 must be deducted from the levy, may not be replaced by property tax, and must be reported on each tax notice. If you see the order summarized as bonds, then plant facilities, then supplementals, check it against the statute: as amended through 2026, 33-911 puts temporary supplementals ahead of plant facilities, so read 33-911 itself when a district explains its numbers.

The fund has grown. House Bill 521 (2024) raised its share of sales tax from 2.25 to 3.25 percent and redirected lottery dividends to it. House Bill 304 (2025) added $50 million a year to the facilities fund and $50 million a year to homeowner relief, starting in 2025, according to its statement of purpose. The Department of Education's FY2025 Tax Levies for School Purposes report (tax year 2024) shows facilities money reducing school levies by about $128.4 million: $70.2 million for bonds in 54 districts, $54.2 million for supplementals in 55 districts and $4.0 million for plant facilities in 12 districts. After those reductions, 77 districts still levied $180.0 million in supplementals.

Because the money depends on future legislatures, 34-914 keeps it off the ballot unless a specific amount is guaranteed. That is why ballots show the full cost per $100,000 and the tax bill later shows less. Districts and residents both find that confusing. It is how the law is written.

How much Idaho relies on supplementals

Idaho Education News tracks the statewide levy bill each year. Its November 2025 report, "State to cover 35% of supplemental levies", gave these figures for fiscal year 2026:

MeasureFY2026 figure
Districts with a supplemental levy89 of 115 (the count has ranged from 86 to 94 over the past decade)
Total supplemental levies approved$243.3 million (up from $227.4 million)
Paid by state facilities money$85.2 million, about 35 percent (up from $47.4 million the year before)
Paid by property owners$158.1 million
Supplemental levy pass rate, 2016 to 202494 percent of more than 500 elections
Districts whose levy was fully covered by state money12, including West Ada, Pocatello-Chubbuck, Idaho Falls, Caldwell and Mackay
Largest leviesLewiston $26.2M, Coeur d'Alene $25M, West Ada $13.8M, Nampa $13.8M, Lake Pend Oreille $12.7M
Smallest levyMackay, $85,000

The SDE and EdNews figures count slightly different things (tax year versus fiscal year, requirements versus approved levies), so cite each with its source instead of mixing them.

Recent Idaho votes

Supplementals pass more often than any other school tax question, but not always, and the margins can be tiny. In November 2025, EdNews reported 19 of 26 supplementals passed. Nampa's $33.6 million levy passed with 52 percent; Minidoka County's $2.98 million levy failed by 21 votes; Mountain Home's $6.2 million passed by 20 votes; Valley's $600,000 failed by 4. In May 2026, EdNews' unofficial results showed 24 supplementals passing and named five districts whose levies failed: Middleton, Payette, Marsh Valley, Council and Emmett.

DistrictElectionAmount and termResult (EdNews, unofficial)
FilerMay 19, 2026$1.3M, 2 yearsPassed, 875 to 867 (about 50.2 percent), after failing with 40 percent in November 2025
CouncilMay 19, 2026$500,000, 2 yearsFailed, 392 to 399 (about 49.6 percent)
Marsh ValleyMay 19, 2026$2M, 2 yearsFailed, 864 to 875, after failing in November 2025 at $2.98M
KelloggMay 19, 2026$7M, 2 yearsPassed, 66 percent, after failing with 48 percent in November 2025
BonnevilleMay 19, 2026$19.2M, 2 yearsPassed, 59 percent
MiddletonMay 19, 2026$3.9M, 2 yearsFailed, about 48 percent, after failing at $4.95M in November 2025

Example: the Filer and Council math

Filer: 875 + 867 = 1,742 votes. 875 / 1,742 = 0.5023, or 50.23 percent. A majority, so the levy passed. Five voters switching sides would have flipped it: 870 to 872.

Council: 392 + 399 = 791 votes. 392 / 791 = 0.4956, or 49.56 percent. Four more yes votes, taken from the no side, would have made it 396 to 395 and passed it.

Results this close often change in the county canvass. Check the official abstract from the county clerk before reporting a final margin.

Several districts keep coming back. Marsh Valley and Middleton returned in May 2026 with smaller asks after November losses and failed again; both are on the November 3, 2026 ballot once more, Marsh Valley at $2 million and Middleton at $3 million, according to the Idaho Capital Sun's preview. That preview counts 31 supplemental levies worth about $208 million on the November ballot, led by Coeur d'Alene's $60.5 million two-year request at an estimated $110 per $100,000, and no bonds at all.

The arguments on each side

Supporters of supplementals, usually district leaders, teacher groups and parent organizations, argue that the state formula does not pay for the staff and programs families expect, so the local levy is what keeps class sizes down and electives, counselors and activities in place. They point out that the vote is local, the term is short, the money is now itemized on the ballot and reported every year, and voters get to say no every two years.

Opponents, usually taxpayer groups and some legislators, argue that Idaho's constitution makes public schools a state duty under Article IX, so local levies should be the exception. They say routine levies hide the real cost of district budgets, that renters and fixed-income owners pay through rents and bills without much voice, and that a district facing a vote has every reason to frame the levy as essential. Some also argue that levies widen gaps between districts with high property values and those without. In 2026 the Legislature passed House Bill 734, which its sponsors said removes an incentive in the wind and geothermal tax formula that rewarded districts for having a supplemental levy.

Both sides can agree on the facts a voter needs: the dollar amount, the term, the cost per $100,000, what it buys, what the last levy bought and how much state money already reduces it.

How to: read a supplemental levy ballot in ten minutes

  1. Get the sample ballot from the county clerk's or county elections office website, or the official election notice. The district must include the same statement in the notice.
  2. Find the 33-802B purpose disclosure above the question. Add up the purpose amounts and compare the total to the annual dollar amount.
  3. Find the 34-914 statement. Check that it shows the annual amount, the cost per $100,000, the term in months or years, and the expiration date of any levy it mentions.
  4. Recompute the cost: annual amount divided by the district's taxable value, times 100,000. Get taxable value from the county assessor or auditor.
  5. Look for state money. If the ballot mentions facilities funds, it must name a guaranteed amount and the year the guarantee ends. If it mentions them without that, write it down.
  6. Check whether this replaces an expiring levy. The ballot should then say whether the tax per $100,000 rises, falls or stays the same.

How to: check how the last levy was spent

  1. Ask the district clerk or business office for the 33-802C summary published before the July board meeting, with the ballot disclosure attached.
  2. Compare each purpose line on the old ballot with the spending reported in the summary.
  3. Ask for the budget pages for the general fund for the same years, which the budget hearing notice under 33-801 shows by major category (see lesson 3 and lesson 9).
  4. If the summary is not posted, file a public records request; the Idaho FOIA / Public Records Letter Generator drafts the letter, and course 47, lesson 3 covers wording.

How to: work out what the levy costs your household

  1. Find your taxable value on your assessment notice or last tax bill. Use taxable value, after the homeowner exemption, not market value.
  2. Multiply by the ballot's cost per $100,000, then divide by 100,000. A $210,000 taxable value at $133.33 per $100,000 is 2.1 x $133.33 = $280.00 a year.
  3. Look at last year's bill for the supplemental line and the state relief line that 33-911(4) requires. That shows how much state money reduced it.
  4. Remember the rate can move: higher district values usually lower it; new state money usually lowers it; a new bond can absorb state money and raise it. Reading a Tax Bill walks through the bill line by line.

How to: speak to the board before it sets a levy amount

  1. Watch the board agendas from January through March for a May election, and June through August for November. The board must vote to call the election before the tenth-Friday deadline.
  2. Read the draft purpose list. That is the moment to ask for specifics, because once filed, the list binds the district under 33-802C.
  3. Comment during the public comment period at a regular meeting, which 33-510 guarantees to residents of the district; course 49, lesson 6 covers the rules.
  4. Ask the business manager how much facilities money the district expects and which 33-911 step it will reach. That decides whether the levy is reduced at all.

Myth: "If the levy fails, the district loses its whole budget"

A failed supplemental removes only the levy dollars. State formula money, federal money and any bond or plant facilities levy already approved continue. For some districts the levy is a large share of the general fund, so a failure can mean real cuts to staff and programs, but the schools stay open and the district may ask again at the next May or November election. The opposite claim, that the levy is "extra" money with no effect on staffing, is also wrong for many districts: the 33-802B list shows exactly which positions and programs it pays for.

Reporting angle

  • Request the 33-802C annual summary and the ballot disclosure for each of the last two levies. Compare promised and actual spending line by line.
  • Get the official abstract of votes from the county clerk after the canvass, not election-night numbers, especially when the margin is under 1 percent.
  • Ask the district how much School District Facilities Fund money it received, which 33-911 step it reached, and what the levy line on bills will be after the reduction. SDE's annual Tax Levies for School Purposes report lists every district's reduction.
  • Check every district mailer, website page and social post about the levy for the 34-914(4) cost per $100,000 and term. For the rules on what a district may say about its own levy, see lesson 8 and course 46, lesson 7.
  • If a district says it qualifies for an indefinite levy, ask for seven years of general fund totals and levy amounts and do the 20 percent arithmetic yourself.
  • After a failure, ask what the board cut, from which purpose lines, and when it plans to return to the ballot.

Research angle

Check yourself

1. Under Idaho Code 33-802(3), what vote and maximum term apply to an ordinary supplemental levy in a noncharter school district?

2. Which district may ask voters for an indefinite-term supplemental levy under 33-802(5)?

3. A district's ballot for a $2.4 million supplemental levy lists the amount, the cost per $100,000 and the term, but no breakdown of what the money pays for. Which statute does that ballot fail?

4. A district certifies a $3,200,000 supplemental levy on $2,400,000,000 of taxable value. What does it cost per $100,000 of taxable value before any state money?

5. In what order must a district spend its School District Facilities Fund money under Idaho Code 33-911?

6. According to Idaho Education News, how many of Idaho's 115 school districts had a voter-approved supplemental levy in fiscal year 2026?

Terms in this lesson

Supplemental levy
A voter-approved Idaho school property tax for maintenance and operation above what state law otherwise allows, approved by a majority for up to two years under Idaho Code 33-802(3). Often called an override.
Indefinite-term supplemental levy
A supplemental levy with no end date, available under 33-802(5) only to districts with seven straight years of voter-approved supplementals of at least 20 percent of the general M&O fund.
Charter district
A school district operating under a charter that predates Idaho statehood (Boise and Lewiston), with levy authority set by its charter under 33-802(4) and (6).
Levy rate
The tax per dollar of taxable value, found by dividing the dollars a district certifies by its taxable value. Multiply by 100,000 for the cost per $100,000.
Purpose disclosure
The statement required by 33-802B, placed above a supplemental levy question, describing in detail what the money will pay for and roughly how much goes to each item.
School District Facilities Fund (SDFF)
State money created by House Bill 292 in 2023 and distributed per pupil, which districts must use in place of property tax for bonds, temporary supplementals and plant facilities levies, in the order set by 33-911.

Full glossary

Sources