The Idaho Republican Party added a new plank to its official platform at its recent state convention, endorsing the elimination of property taxes — a move that could leave public schools facing a roughly $400 million annual funding gap with no clear replacement mechanism identified.

The measure was championed by Scott Herndon, who defeated incumbent state Sen. Jim Woodward, R-Sagle, in the May Republican primary. Herndon led the convention push to formally adopt the anti-property-tax position, winning approval by a wide margin.

Strong Convention Support

Of approximately 600 delegates gathered for the Idaho GOP State Convention, roughly 475 or more stood in favor of the plank during a standing vote — translating to around 80 percent support. The lopsided result signals that grassroots Republican sentiment on property taxes has intensified, even as the policy details remain contested.

The platform language calls for replacing property taxes with “revenue sources that do not place a lien on a citizen’s home,” but Herndon’s proposal explicitly rules out raising sales or income tax rates. Instead, he argues that natural economic growth in Idaho would generate sufficient additional state revenue to backfill the loss.

Herndon also floated allowing individual school districts to establish local option sales taxes for capital projects — a tool that would give communities some flexibility but would not directly address the annual operating shortfall that property tax elimination would create.

The School Funding Math

The central policy challenge is substantial. According to the Idaho State Tax Commission, counties levied and distributed $404.4 million in property taxes specifically for public schools in fiscal year 2025. Eliminating property taxes without a direct replacement would remove that entire stream from school budgets.

Herndon has proposed shifting school funding responsibility from local property taxes to state-level sources, but critics say the plan lacks the specificity needed to make that transition workable. House Minority Leader Ilana Rubel, D-Boise, was pointed in her skepticism. “Maybe money will magically appear, and we’ll be fine,” she said. “That is not a budget plan. That’s preposterous.”

Herndon pushed back on concerns about feasibility, drawing on broader historical ambition. “Was going to the moon realistic?” he said. “Humans are capable of doing anything they set their minds to.”

Prior Legislative Groundwork

Idaho lawmakers have taken some steps in recent sessions to address school facility funding through state mechanisms rather than purely local property levies. In 2023, the Legislature passed House Bill 292, which created a School District Facilities Fund. The following year, House Bill 521 established the $1.5 billion School Modernization Facilities Fund, intended to be distributed over a ten-year period.

Those measures addressed capital needs — building construction and renovation — rather than day-to-day school operations. The annual $404 million gap from eliminating operating property taxes would require a different and significantly larger solution.

Platform vs. Policy

It is important to note that a party platform plank is a statement of values and priorities, not a legislative proposal. The convention vote does not obligate Idaho legislators to introduce or pass a property tax elimination bill, though it does signal the direction that a significant portion of the Republican base wants elected officials to pursue.

Viki Purdy, newly elected first vice chair of the Idaho Republican Party and an Adams County Commissioner, was among the party leadership at the convention as the plank moved forward.

Idaho’s property tax debate has been building for several years, driven by rising home values that have pushed tax bills higher even without rate changes — a source of frustration for homeowners across the state. Whether the convention’s enthusiasm for elimination translates into a concrete legislative strategy when the Idaho Legislature reconvenes remains to be seen.

Herndon, now the Republican nominee in his state Senate race following his primary win over Woodward, is expected to be a vocal advocate for the policy when the next session begins.