Federal land ownership hurts Idaho schools
One of Idaho’s biggest challenges is funding for public education. We must find solutions not only for today, but far into the future. There are many reforms that are being explored, the plan that I present is called the APPLE Initiative or the Action Plan for Public Lands and Education. I will attempt to explain it below.
In the eastern states, the federal government owns 4 percent of all land. In the western states, the federal government owns more than 50 percent and, in Idaho, more than 60 percent.
Having people in Washington, D.C., make most of the decisions about what happens on Idaho land doesn’t make sense and often leads to poor decision-making that places distant abstract notions above concrete local needs.
More importantly, federal land ownership is directly harming Idaho schools and students — along with those in other western states.
Public education is denied funding from four main revenue streams by the federal government: enabling acts, property taxes, natural resources royalty revenues and school trust lands.
• Enabling acts
When Idaho was first admitted into the union it was agreed that 5 percent of the proceeds from the sale of federal land would benefit public education. At the time, it was assumed that the federal government would continue to dispose of public lands creating an $811 million endowment for public schools.
• Property taxes
Local school districts cannot assess property taxes on federal lands. Craig-Wyden, a congressional act that required rural communities to be compensated for federally owned lands, is set to expire soon. If it isn’t renewed, as seems probable, then local districts like those in Bonner and Boundary counties will receive no compensation from the federal government for their significant holdings.
Annually, Idaho is losing $101 million in property taxes to public education alone due to unreasonable levels of federal land ownership. Even under Craig-Wyden Idaho received only about 4 percent of the amount that would have been generated if the land was in private hands.
• Natural resources royalty revenues
The federal government charges private industry to use public lands. While sometimes these rates are fair, states receive less than half of the royalty revenue from these ventures and often the federal government ties additional strings to the funding. The rates charged could be decreased, spurring additional innovation on public lands, while simultaneously increasing funds that went to public schools if these lands were under local rather than federal control.
Idaho is losing about $70 million a year due to the current arrangement and what it is getting, as noted previously, is being tied to specific uses by the Federal government.
• School trust lands
When Idaho became a state, the federal government transferred land for a trust for public education. Much of this land is difficult to use for its purpose due to being surrounded by federal land. Delaying innovation and decreasing revenue for public schools.
I believe federal land ownership in Idaho must be decreased. This land would better serve the students of Idaho if much of it were transferred to the Idaho Public Lands School Endowment. I am currently working with legislators in Boise and throughout the West to accomplish this.
As always, I welcome your input. Please feel free to contact me at eanderson@house.idaho.gov.
Rep. Eric Anderson, R-Priest Lake, represents District 1 in the Idaho House of Representatives.