Legislative services analyst briefs committee on FY2026 higher education budgets, requests and issues

Kevin Campbell, senior budget and policy analyst with the Legislative Services Office, presented the House Committee on Education with an overview of the FY2026 higher education budgets on Feb. 12. His briefing covered seven budget areas: Agricultural Research and Extension; Career and Technical Education (CTE); colleges and universities; community colleges; health education programs; special programs; and the Office of the State Board of Education (OSB).

Campbell gave topline figures and key requests: Agricultural Research and Extension has a base budget of $37,966,900 and 341.33 budgeted full-time positions; it requested two items including $250,100 for building maintenance at a new research dairy and funding for a professor of viticulture and small fruits. CTE’s FY2026 base is $94,426,500 with 569.14 full-time-equivalent positions and requests including funding for additional instructors ($664,000), federal grant spending authority ($2,273,700), a business-industry engagement manager ($128,400) and $50,000 for adult literacy and basic education.

Colleges and universities show a FY2026 base of $709,431,200 with 4,921.68 FTP; Campbell explained endowment distributions (from state-managed land and timber investments) support Boise State (which does not receive endowment distributions), Idaho State, Lewis Clark State College and the University of Idaho. The Enrollment Workload Adjustment (EWA) was described as a formula-driven adjustment that can add or remove funding; this year some institutions gain funding while others lose funding. Community colleges are included in the EWA this year, with a net EWA request totaling $707,100.

Health education programs have a base of $28,206,800 and 46.65 FTP (the FTP number does not capture residents and students who are not state employees). FY2026 requests included additional residency seats across internal medicine, psychiatry and family medicine and one additional seat in the Idaho Dental Education Program. Campbell and committee members discussed the shortage of clinical sites and supervising faculty that limits the number of medical education seats and residencies available to Idaho students.

The OSB budget base is $55,800,000 with 84.25 FTP. Campbell described a governor-recommended $15,000,000 one-time grant program to build institutional infrastructure capacity related to in-demand workforce training; the grant would require matching private funds at a 1:1 ratio for Boise State, Idaho State, and the University of Idaho, and a 1:2 ratio for Lewis Clark State College and the community colleges to account for differences in development capacity.

Committee members asked clarifying questions about FTE definitions (Campbell confirmed FTE is an equivalency, not headcount), whether the endowment request represents additional principal or distributions (Campbell explained distributions from Endowment Fund Investment Board-managed assets), and whether the state directly funds clinical sites for medical students (Campbell said he was not aware of separate state investments specifically for clinical sites and described capacity constraints noted by residency directors). Campbell provided guidance on where to find the legislative budget book and dashboards and offered follow-up assistance to committee members.

The presentation concluded without formal committee action; members thanked Campbell and the committee adjourned at 10:06 a.m.