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 audit), the addition of the School Safety and Security program (moved in FY2022), and several recent enhancement packages. Campbell noted a $30 million ongoing Empowering Parents grant created by the Legislature in FY2024 and the FY2025 transfer of a $5 million broadband program into OSB's budget. For FY2026 the largest single enhancement discussed was the governor's one‑time $15 million public workforce capacity grant to build institutional capacity for workforce training. According to Campbell's presentation, institutions would be eligible for matching awards: a 1:1 match for Boise State University, Idaho State University and the University of Idaho, and a 1:2 match for Lewis‑Clark State College and the four community colleges.

Director Joshua "Josh" Whitworth, introduced as OSB's executive director, and Board President Dr. Clark joined the briefing and answered lawmakers' questions. Whitworth described the board's goal of improving "systemness" by centralizing functions like internal audit and risk management to reduce duplication and provide consistent policies across institutions. He said centralized IT and data work supports roughly 300,000 students and that recent transfers included six staff from the school safety program and additional IT and audit personnel.

Lawmakers repeatedly pressed for additional detail. Representative Petzke asked why the centralized agency had grown from about 60 FTPs to more than 80 and whether money would be better spent at institutions. Whitworth said centralization enables system‑level audits and risk management, and he agreed to provide a longer IT plan to the committee. Several members asked for back‑up information on contractor costs versus hiring staff for database and infrastructure work; Whitworth said many IT tasks currently rely on contractors and that hiring in‑house engineers would reduce long‑term contracting costs.

Independent Study Idaho was questioned specifically. Whitworth described it as a flexible, nontraditional delivery program used by a few hundred students annually, funded primarily by student fees (about $160 per credit). He said growth in program costs had outpaced fee revenue and that without a base increase the program's self‑funding model would be strained.

Lawmakers also sought clarity on DEI‑related services and funding. Whitworth and others confirmed that activities focused on historically marginalized communities have been funded through student fees and opt‑in mechanisms rather than through state appropriations. "The student fee and opt‑in is accurate," Whitworth said when asked to clarify funding sources.

On other items, Whitworth said the University of Phoenix transaction remains under review and that any substantive action would require engagement with the Legislature; he said no final action or path had been set. Committee members asked for a report mapping the transfers OSB has absorbed and whether corresponding decreases occurred elsewhere; OSB answered that most recent position transfers were net zero and came from other state entities.

The briefing concluded with multiple requests from committee members for more detailed documentation — a long‑term IT staffing and cost plan, contractor expenditure histories, maintenance backlog specifics, and refined eligibility and outcome lists for the proposed workforce capacity grant.

Ending: Committee members directed staff and OSB to provide the requested materials during the upcoming work group meetings ahead of formal budget decisions.