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OPI asks for roughly five FTE; committee requests historic staffing data and deeper analysis of teacher-licensing options
Summary
The Office of Public Instruction asked the committee to consider an elected-official request for about five FTE (roughly $638,000 first year). Committee members asked OPI to provide condensed historical FTE data and to clarify costs and integration challenges of a possible move of teacher licensing to the Department of Labor & Industry system.
The Office of Public Instruction (OPI) told the Joint Appropriations Subcommittee on Education that an elected-official request includes roughly five full-time equivalent positions and about $638,000 in the first year to restore capacity the agency says has been lost since 2016.
April Grady, OPI chief financial officer, said the agency provided historical FTE spreadsheets going back to 2016 and told the committee the superintendent’s request aims to restore staffing for customer service, accreditation and other functions. “We had 5 FTE more than we currently are asking for in this biennium,” Grady said when summarizing the staffing history; she said the agency has dropped from roughly 185 FTE in 2017 to about 176 in the current biennium.
Chair Beatty and other members asked OPI to condense that historical data into a graphic and a short narrative so legislators can defend or contest an FTE appropriation during executive action. The budget office indicated it could pull House Bill 2 FTE history into the committee’s dashboard for easier review.
Committee members also questioned the future of the teacher licensing system. OPI staff presented a cost-comparison between continuing the current licensing system and adopting the Department of Labor & Industry (DLI) licensing platform; the DLI option appeared on paper to offer annual savings (the analysis reflected a potential savings of roughly $388,000 annually before initial implementation costs), but OPI cautioned the DLI figures do not include costs to integrate the new system with OPI’s accreditation, certification and several in-house systems. OPI said the choice requires further analysis of vendor contracts and integration requirements and that no final decision had been made.
Members asked OPI to identify whether changes would lower teacher licensing fees and whether an appropriation should be requested to accelerate any transition. The committee requested a recommendation and full cost estimate before mid‑February executive action. No formal votes were taken during the work session.
