State Board office details staffing growth, new grants and IT, school safety transfers in budget briefing

Kevin Campbell, a budget and policy analyst with the Legislative Services Office, told the Joint Finance Corporation Committee that the Office of the State Board of Education (OSB) oversees administrative, IT/data and school safety programs and has seen recent staff and program transfers that expanded its size and budget.

Campbell said OSB now staffs 84.25 authorized full‑time positions with eight vacancies and divides work among OSB Administration, IT and Data Management, and the School Safety and Security Program. "The Office of the State Board, or OSB," he said, "has responsibility for the managerial, financial, and coordinating functions necessary to carry out" the board's duties under Idaho Code Section 33‑101.

The nut graf: the briefing laid out why OSB's budget has grown and flagged several high‑profile enhancement requests the committee will review, including a large ongoing Empowering Parents grant already in the base and a one‑time workforce capacity grant proposed by the governor.

Campbell and OSB officials described three drivers of the agency's recent growth: transfers of functions and staff from other departments (including IT and internal…