The J.A. & Kathryn Albertson Foundation has offered to help fund an Idaho legislative committee’s efforts to update the state’s school funding formula, the AP reports; no amount has been disclosed. "We're still trying to figure out what we want to do," said Sen. Chuck Winder, R-Boise, co-chair of the legislative panel. "We don't even know if we need their help, but the offer has been made." Here’s a full report from AP reporter Kimberlee Kruesi:

Idaho lawmakers mulling Albertson Foundation funding offer 
By KIMBERLEE KRUESI, Associated Press

BOISE, Idaho (AP) – The J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Family Foundation has offered to help finance possible research and other studies in the state's pursuit of modernizing how Idaho funds its public schools.

Sen. Chuck Winder says the foundation on Monday offered to write a check to the legislative committee in charge of reviewing the state's complicated school funding formula. Winder, a Republican from Boise, did not say how much was offered.

Attempts to contact the foundation were not immediately successful Tuesday.

"We're still trying to figure out what we want to do," said Winder, who is co-chairing the legislative panel. "We don't even know if we need their help, but the offer has been made."

The foundation is an influential donor in Idaho, giving millions in dollars to public, charter and online schools over the past years. Recently, it portrayed public schools in a negative light in a statewide advertisement campaign, known as "Don't Fail Idaho," which included a claim that four out of five Idaho students are not prepared for life after high school.

The campaign sparked opposition from many superintendents, calling it misleading and argued that the organization was trying to undermine public schools in order to push for privatizing education.

The foundation recently funded a study that said most parents would prefer to send their children to private or charter schools.

Some members on the legislative committee raised concerns Tuesday that collecting the money could backfire and create negative perceptions about how and why the money is being used. Others suggested bringing in a third party organization - €” such as the University of Idaho's McClure Center for Public Policy or the Andrus Center for Public Policy -€” to make sure the money would be used fairly and independently.

"I think that would make it look cleaner," said Sen. Janie Ward-Engelking, a Democrat from Boise.

Rep. Wendy Horman, a Republican from Idaho Falls and also a co-chair of the committee, came short of advocating for taking the foundation's money. Instead, she pointed out that rewriting the state's school formula will require reliable information to help Idaho schools transition if the state approves a new formula and having studies on hand might be valuable.

The current formula divvies up funds to schools and school districts by calculating student attendance, class size and other various needs. The formula hasn't been updated since 1994, leading education advocates to call for a revamp. The legislative committee was formed earlier this year, but lawmakers don't anticipate a recommendation to be completed for at least two years.

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