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Lewis‑Clark State College seeks targeted funding to close faculty pay gap and sustain technical programs
Summary
Lewis‑Clark State College presented its FY2026 budget request to the Joint Finance‑Appropriations Committee, highlighting enrollment trends, the enrollment‑workload formula (EWA) impact, operational capacity enhancement requests, LAUNCH program outcomes and a persistent salary gap with K‑12 peers.
Kevin Campbell, budget and policy analyst with the Legislative Services Office, opened the Lewis‑Clark State College budget briefing, saying the college has 3,881 students and a FY2025 base general‑fund budget of $41,700,000, not including tuition and fees.
“Tuition and fees are an essential part of the financial management,” Campbell told the committee, explaining that institutions reappropriate tuition and fee revenue across fiscal years and that endowment funds — including the Normal School Fund — have legally specified sources and purposes under Idaho law (Idaho Code §33‑304).
The core of the presentation came from Dr. Cynthia Pemberton, president of Lewis‑Clark State College, who described how the Enrollment Workload Adjustment (EWA) formula and a persistent salary differential with K‑12 affect the college’s finances and recruiting. Pemberton said Lewis‑Clark’s weighted credit‑hour factor averages 1.85 versus 2.51 at sister institutions and that the gap “means for 3 decades, LC State has received, on average, 26% less possibility of having the credit hours produced precipitate a positive formula outcome.”
Pemberton and the college identified several budget and performance items:
- Operational and enhancement totals: FY2024 CEC (compensation/employee costs) included $2,100,000 for the college in a year when some CEC was offset by tuition; Lewis‑Clark received $440,200 in Operational Capacity Enhancement (OCE) for FY2025 and has requested $287,000 in OCE for FY2026 that would be applied to compensation (CEC). The college also expects $255,000 in endowment adjustment funds for FY2026 and notes an EWA‑driven reduction of $102,500 projected for FY2026.
- Tuition/fees and reappropriation: Campbell noted Lewis‑Clark’s FY2024 appropriation of $40,517,100 and $23,700,000 in tuition and fee revenue that was reappropriated into FY2025; the analyst emphasized reappropriated tuition is subject to oversight by the State Board of Education.
- Program and enrollment trends: Pemberton said LC State offered more than 130 academic and technical credentials and highlighted growth in career‑technical education (19% up in fall term, another 10% in spring). She credited the state’s LAUNCH scholarship program with supporting about 240 recipients in the fall, concentrated in career‑technical programs, and said 36 of 54 fourth‑year electrical apprentices completed their program with LAUNCH support.
- Nursing, allied health and prison education: Pemberton described nursing and allied health as institutional strengths, cited new graduate offerings in nursing and cyber accounting, and said Lewis‑Clark is the first Idaho institution to complete full transition approval to a prison education program (serving nearly 200 incarcerated students across sites in Orofino, Pocatello and Boise).
- Compensation gap: The college presented comparative data showing LC State instructors earn about $9,000 less on average than K‑12 teachers and assistant professors about $3,777 less, a competitive disadvantage the college said it wants to address. Pemberton said $1.2 million would be needed to bring staff to median levels; the college requested $287,000 this cycle to make incremental progress.
Committee members pressed for clarifications about EWA mechanics, net position and reserve levels, and the college’s use of prior enhancements. Dr. Julie Cray, vice president for finance and administration, explained that recent operational enhancements were used for occupancy costs at the Schweitzer Career and Technical Engineering Building, targeted marketing, and IT/cybersecurity upgrades. She told the committee the college had used carryforward funds to cover shortfalls when occupancy funding lagged the building opening during the pandemic.
The college emphasized its student population is disproportionately Pell‑eligible and first‑generation, with many part‑time and working students for whom traditional 4‑ and 6‑year metrics do not capture outcomes. Pemberton said the college’s role as Idaho’s small public four‑year institution remains a strategic niche.
No formal committee votes were taken during the Lewis‑Clark presentation; requests and figures were presented for committee consideration and follow‑up.
Looking ahead, Lewis‑Clark asked the committee to consider additional support for salary compression and targeted operational capacity funding to sustain nursing, technical programs and prison education pathways.
