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JFAC approves $1.68 million in enrollment workload adjustments for community colleges, directs outcome‑based funding study
Summary
The Joint Finance‑Appropriations Committee approved $1,679,800 in ongoing general fund enrollment workload adjustments for three community colleges and directed the State Board of Education to propose an outcome‑based funding model by Dec. 31, 2025.
The Joint Finance‑Appropriations Committee on March 7 voted to add $1,679,800 in ongoing general fund support for enrollment workload adjustments (EWA) at Idaho’s community colleges and adopted language directing the State Board of Education to develop an outcome‑based funding model.
Representative Petske moved the budget adjustment—$496,800 ongoing for the College of Eastern Idaho, $690,000 ongoing for the College of Southern Idaho and $493,000 ongoing for the College of Western Idaho—totaling $1,679,800 for FY2026. The motion was seconded by Senator Ward Engleking. Representative Petske explained the committee was choosing not to hold colleges to a 3% cap on their EWA and said the committee aimed to protect colleges from being penalized by a backward‑looking formula; North Idaho College was held harmless given recent enrollment gains and accreditation progress.
The motion passed on a 19‑1 roll call (Senate 9‑1, House 10‑0) and will be sent to the floor with a due‑pass recommendation.
Committee staff also presented implementing language that directs the State Board of Education to develop an outcome‑based funding model and return to JFAC with a proposal by Dec. 31, 2025, for committee review and to implement the model by FY2028. Representative Petske requested unanimous consent to accept the language; no objection was recorded and the language was ordered into the record.
Kevin Campbell, a budget and policy analyst with the Legislative Services Office, reviewed the community college budget and noted that appropriations to the community colleges are made as trustee and benefit payments and that community colleges are subject to enrollment workload adjustments as determined by the State Board of Education. Earlier in the hearing House Education Chairman Doug Pickett had told the committee that CTE programs at community colleges are “significantly oversubscribed” and face capacity and instructional staffing challenges.
The committee also discussed the rationale for addressing EWA caps and the importance of community college capacity for CTE pathways that serve in‑demand occupations.
