School Trust Lands
Idaho
Idaho's 1890 Admission Act used the older, purposive grant language — sections 16 and 36 "for the support of common schools" — without the express trust vocabulary Congress would write into the New Mexico-Arizona compact twenty years later. The architectural weight of Idaho's trust regime sits not in the federal Act but in Article IX of the 1889 state constitution, and Article IX is, by the standards of its era, an unusually full school-trust framework. It declares the public school endowment fund "forever inviolate." It pledges the state's guaranty against loss — a structural commitment rare among public-land states. It seats five statewide elected officials on the Board of Land Commissioners as ex officio trustees: Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General, Controller, and Superintendent of Public Instruction. And it splits investment authority from land-management authority, putting the corpus under a separate Endowment Fund Investment Board.
What distinguishes Idaho is not the architecture alone but the willingness of the courts to enforce it. The Idaho Supreme Court has policed the constitutional command, decision after decision, for more than a century. Moon (1986) caught the state crediting endowment-land interest to the general fund and stopped it. Idaho Watersheds (1999) struck down a statute requiring the Land Board to consider effects on the livestock industry and local communities in lease decisions — criteria that benefited non-beneficiaries at the expense of the trust's maximum-return mandate. Wasden (2010, 2012) reinforced that trustee discretion is measured against both the constitution and the statutes, not against political convenience.
Today the Idaho Department of Lands manages roughly 2.5 million acres of endowment trust lands and the EFIB-managed endowment fund stands near $3.6 billion. Idaho is the western example of a strong constitutional architecture vigorously defended in court.
“The land where miracles grow”
On May 20, 1785, the Continental Congress provided land to support schools as each new state joined the union. “There shall be reserved the lot No.16, of every township, for the maintenance of public schools within the said township.” The federal school-land grant ultimately reached a national scale, and school-trust lands still span tens of millions of acres across the public-land states. Public accounting gathered by ASTL documents more than $100 billion in school-trust assets and more than $1 billion in annual distributions in the most recently reconciled national accounting; current fifty-state figures are being rebuilt state by state. However, few educators or members of the public know about school trust lands. Advocates for School Trust Lands is sharing this grand history of America’s founding vision for schools, hoping that over time Americans will know of school trust lands and their support for public schools.
On July 3, 1890, Idaho became a state and received sections 16 and 36 in each township of six square miles for public schools. Schools were granted over 3 million acres and today hold 2.1 million surface acres and almost 3 million mineral acres. Additional lands were granted by Congress to the University of Idaho, Idaho State University, Lewis Clark State College, the state mental hospital, corrections, schools for the deaf and blind, and veteran services. The school trust lands are part of a “sacred compact” between Idaho and Congress. This trust requires the state to act with undivided loyalty as it manages the lands to support public schools. The school lands are managed in perpetuity to secure the maximum long-term financial return for the schools. The Idaho Department of Lands is located at 300 North 6th Street, in Boise, ID 83702. These school lands are managed by Dustin Miller, under the direction of the 5-membher Idaho State Board of Land Commissioners, comprised of the top five statewide elected officials-the Governor, the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, and the State Controller.
Timber is by far the major revenue source at 86% of total revenue, but rangelands add several more millions annually. Residential and commercial real estate also contribute millions. Other activities such as hunting, recreation, oil and gas leasing and bonuses, and mineral leases and bonuses also contribute.
At statehood, Idaho was required to establish the Public School Permanent Endowment Fund, “Proceeds of the sale of school land . . . shall be deposited in the public school permanent endowment fund and expended only for the support of public schools. . .” [1] All revenue from mineral sources is deposited in the Public School Endowment Fund. Land sale revenue is either deposited in the permanent endowment fund or may be deposited in the land bank fund “to acquire land for beneficiaries.” If bank deposits are not deployed within five years, they are moved to and invested in the permanent fund. School land has generated over a half-billion dollars in the last decade.
All net revenue from renewable resources like timber, grazing, and real estate leases, and all net investment income are deposited in the Earning Reserve Account. All net revenue from mineral resources is saved and invested in the Public School Endowment Fund. The annual distribution to schools is then set by the State Land Board. If actual income has fallen short of the approved distribution, the additional cash comes out of the Earnings Reserve Account, so schools do not run short. If more is earned, then the Earnings Reserve Account grows for a future year or is reinvested in the permanent Public School Endowment Fund. In 1969, the Idaho legislature created the Endowment Fund Investment Board (EFIB). The Land Board comprised of the top five statewide elected officials, sets the policies for the Investment Board. The nine-member investment board is comprised of six individuals “knowledgeable and experienced in financial matters and the placement or management of investment assets,” one state senator, one state representative, and one public school administrator. [2]
Idaho has done an outstanding job investing the Public School Permanent Endowment Fund. In a comparison of returns on twelve sovereign wealth funds developed by RVK, Idaho was fourth from the highest when looking at the last five years and the last ten years. [3] This performance is amazing when one considers that the comparison included Texas at $57 million and New Mexico at $32 billion, and large funds have an advantage at meeting entrance requirements on many investment opportunities.
The Public School Permanent Endowment Fund (EFIB) is now almost $2 Billion, including the earnings reserves. Funds are prudently and professionally invested. The 5-year total weighted rate of return is 8.1%, the highest of any of the state permanent funds.
[1] Idaho Enabling Act Section 5(a)(2)(A)(ii).
[2] Idaho code 57-718.
[3] RVK is a large, independent investment consulting company that advises numerous permanent state school funds.
FY2024 at a Glance
| Acres granted at statehood | Over 3 million (Jul 3, 1890; Sections 16 & 36) |
|---|---|
| Surface acres currently held | 2.1 million |
| Mineral acres currently held | ~3 million |
| FY2024 gross revenue | Awaiting consolidated public disclosure (timber dominant at ~86% of revenue; ~$500M+ over the prior decade) |
| Endowment market value | ~$2 billion (including Earnings Reserve Account) |
| FY2024 distribution to schools | Awaiting consolidated public disclosure (set annually by Land Board) |
| 5-year time-weighted return | 8.1% (among highest of all state permanent funds) |
Data: ASTL FY2024 state report. Some figures are pending or carried from prior years where indicated.