Joint committee advances State Board of Education budget package, removes $5 million workforce incentive

The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee advanced multiple line items for the Office of the State Board of Education, approving a FY25 supplemental credit-mobility grant and a FY26 program-maintenance package while removing a previously proposed $5 million workforce incentive.

Kevin Campbell, budget and policy analyst with the Legislative Services Office, told the committee the credit-mobility item on the screen was a supplemental for the FY25 portion of a credit mobility grant that “will help the state board identify options for improving the portability and mobility of credits between institutions.” The grant request on the screen covered FY25 and was for $40,000, with the extension running January 2025 to January 2026.

The committee first approved a FY25 adjustment that added $20,000 from the miscellaneous revenue fund to the Office of the State Board of Education; the motion passed by roll call and the committee adopted a due-pass recommendation.

The committee then considered the FY26 JFAC program-maintenance motion moved by Representative Petzke to add 1 full-time position and $229,200 from the general fund plus $131,500 from dedicated funds (a total of $360,700). Representative Petzke listed line items in that motion, including $10,000 for a software-support contract, $35,000 for cybersecurity testing, $12,500 from a dedicated fund for marketing, $20,000 for the credit-mobility grant, $99,000 for replacement vehicles, and $40,000 for OITS hardware.

Representative Petzke and other members explained that the FY26 package differed from an earlier JFAC motion because it removed an earlier $5 million allocation that had been intended for an "in-demand" workforce program. “I think it’s extremely unfortunate that this is getting removed entirely,” said Senator Wintrow, who warned that the cut would affect training pipelines and health-care workforce capacity. Senator Ward Engelking described students waiting for spots in programs and said the cuts risk lengthening time to degree for students.

Supporters of the revised budget package noted other investments elsewhere in the budget, including funding for wait lists in technical schools and capital investments for colleges and universities. Representative Petzke said the committee had pared back the agency request substantially and framed the FY26 motion as a compromise meant to preserve other budget priorities.

The FY26 motion passed on a recorded vote with a combined total of 17 ayes and 3 nays; committee leadership certified a due-pass recommendation. Committee staff indicated the language accompanying the motion was the same as a previously approved motion except that language related to the use of appropriated funds had been removed.

The record shows the committee will forward the budget and accompanying language with a due-pass recommendation to the full Legislature for further consideration.

Ending: The committee moved on after the votes; staff said the approved language and the changes would be forwarded with the committee’s recommendation for action by the full Legislature.