State of Disrepair
Inside Idaho’s Crumbling Schools
Idaho spends less, per student, on schools than any other state. Restrictive policies created a funding crisis that’s left rural schools with collapsing roofs, deteriorating foundations and freezing classrooms.
Falling Apart
Students and educators in Idaho show us what it’s like when a state fails to fund school repairs.
Local Reporting Network
Collapsing Roofs, Broken Toilets, Flooded Classrooms: Inside the Worst-Funded Schools in the Nation
Idaho spends less on schools per student than any other state. Kids are sweating, freezing and struggling to learn.
Local Reporting Network
Highlights From This Series
April 13, 2023
We documented how restrictive policies in Idaho made it difficult for school districts to raise funds for construction and repairs, leaving students to learn in freezing classrooms and overcrowded schools.
Sept. 6, 2023
We showed how a state fund to fix unsafe schools had gone largely unused. One district had received only a fraction of what it needed after six bond elections in seven years failed.
Dec. 14, 2023
We revealed how prominent lawmakers were discussing a proposal to make it easier for school districts to repair and replace their aging buildings by lowering the required threshold for bond votes to pass.
Dec. 15, 2023
Hundreds of students, parents, educators and others — including 91% of the state’s superintendents — told us what it’s like to have schools with flooded classrooms, leaky ceilings, failing plumbing and discolored drinking water.
Jan. 8, 2024
In his State of the State address, Gov. Brad Little called for $2 billion in state funding to help schools repair or replace their buildings, declaring it “priority No. 1.”
March 21, 2024
The Legislature approved $1.5 billion in new funding and redirected an additional $500 million, which the governor said was the largest investment in school facilities in state history.
April 9, 2024
We reported on how the Idaho Freedom Foundation used a state election law to make it harder for school districts to pass bonds and levies to fix their buildings.
May 21, 2024
For the first time in two decades, voters in the Salmon School District in remote Central Idaho approved a bond to build a new school.
After Decades, Voters Finally OK Replacement for Crumbling Idaho School
The vote follows a yearlong investigation by the Idaho Statesman and ProPublica into how the state’s restrictive funding policies left students studying in deteriorating buildings across the state.
Local Reporting Network
Idaho Legislature Approves $2 Billion for Schools to Repair and Replace Aging Buildings
The funding was pledged by Gov. Brad Little after an Idaho Statesman and ProPublica investigation showed students learning in poor conditions. Educators say it’s only a start to fixing decades-old problems.
Local Reporting Network
Idaho Legislature Takes Up Bill to Help School Districts Repair and Replace Buildings
The bill would provide $1.5 billion in new funding in a state where communities have struggled to pass bonds even as some students learn in freezing and overcrowded classrooms with leaky ceilings and discolored drinking water.
Local Reporting Network
Idaho Governor Proposes $2 Billion in Funding for School Buildings Over Next 10 Years
Gov. Brad Little cited reporting by the Idaho Statesman and ProPublica as he laid out his plan for a massive infrastructure investment in the state’s public schools during Monday’s State of the State address.
Local Reporting Network
Idaho Lawmakers Are Discussing a Proposal That Would Make It Easier to Repair Schools
For decades, Idaho’s high bar for school bonds has led to building conditions that students and teachers say make it difficult to learn. Amending the state constitution would help districts secure funding, but doing so won’t be easy.
Local Reporting Network
