The Idaho Republican Party formally added property tax elimination to its official platform at the recent state convention, driven by a push from a newly prominent conservative lawmaker — but the proposal leaves an estimated $400 million hole in public school funding that critics say has no clear solution.
State Sen. Scott Herndon, who defeated incumbent Sen. Jim Woodward in the May GOP primary, led the effort to insert the property tax elimination plank at the Idaho GOP State Convention. Delegates approved the measure by a standing vote of roughly 475 of 600 attendees — approximately 80% support.
What the Plan Would and Would Not Do
Herndon’s vision would shift school funding entirely away from local property taxes and toward state-level tax revenue. Under his framework, the funding source would change to what he described as “revenue sources that do not place a lien on a citizen’s home.” Critically, the proposal does not call for raising sales tax or income tax rates. Instead, Herndon argues that Idaho’s continued economic growth will naturally generate additional state revenue sufficient to replace what local property taxes currently provide.
To handle capital projects at the district level, Herndon suggests allowing school districts to establish a local option sales tax — a mechanism that would give communities a say in how they fund building improvements without burdening homeowners through property levies.
Herndon pointed to two previously enacted bills as the foundation for his approach. House Bill 292, passed in 2023, created a School District Facilities Fund tied to average daily attendance. House Bill 521, approved in 2024, established the $1.5 billion School Modernization Facilities Fund spread over ten years to address capital needs statewide.
In his own words, Herndon framed the proposal as a structural adjustment rather than a funding cut. “It’s just changing the water in the pipe,” he said at the convention. “So you got a pipe that’s feeding schools right now that’s mostly state tax revenue, but has a little bit of property tax in it.”
The $400 Million Question
The Idaho State Tax Commission reported that counties levied and distributed $404.4 million in property taxes for public schools during fiscal year 2025. That figure represents the funding gap that would open up if property tax revenue were eliminated and no direct replacement mechanism were enacted.
For Shoshone County communities — where school districts in Wallace, Kellogg, and surrounding areas already operate on lean budgets — a gap of that magnitude at the state level would carry serious consequences if not filled by a reliable revenue stream. North Idaho educators have already been pressing for an overhaul of Idaho’s decades-old school funding formula, and a shift of this scale would add urgency to those conversations.
House Minority Leader Ilana Rubel, D-Boise, was sharply critical of the plan’s financial assumptions. “Maybe money will magically appear, and we’ll be fine,” she said. “That is not a budget plan. That’s preposterous.” Rubel’s objection centers on the reliance on organic economic growth — rather than a defined tax mechanism — to generate the hundreds of millions needed to keep school budgets whole.
Proponents counter that Idaho’s track record of population growth and economic expansion demonstrates that increased state revenues are a realistic expectation, not wishful thinking.
Viki Purdy, the newly elected first vice chair of the Idaho GOP and an Adams County Commissioner, was among the party leaders present as the plank passed. The measure’s approval signals that property tax relief has become a top-tier priority for Idaho’s Republican base heading into the next legislative session.
Idaho already ranks below national averages in per-pupil education spending, and the state’s education numbers trail the pack even as overall child well-being scores have improved. Any restructuring of school funding will require legislators to demonstrate that replacement revenues are not just theoretically available, but reliably locked in before local districts lose existing property tax dollars.
What Comes Next
The property tax elimination plank is now part of the Idaho GOP’s official platform, giving it political weight as a party priority — but platform positions do not automatically become law. Herndon and like-minded lawmakers will need to build a legislative coalition and present a concrete funding mechanism when the Idaho Legislature reconvenes. The core challenge will be demonstrating, with hard numbers, how state revenue growth alone can absorb a $400 million annual school funding obligation without either cutting services or raising other taxes. School administrators, county officials, and parent groups across the Silver Valley and the broader state will be watching closely as that case is made.