State Board of Education budget request centers on new workforce grant, staffing and IT transfers

The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee heard a presentation on the Office of the State Board of Education budget that highlighted a proposed $15 million, one-time public–private workforce capacity grant and continued expansion of centralized staff and IT services.

Kevin Campbell, a budget and policy analyst with the Legislative Services Office, told the committee that Idaho Code §33-101 creates the State Board and that the board has delegated managerial, financial and coordinating functions to the Office of the State Board (OSB). He said OSB’s largest program is administration and that the office currently has 84.25 authorized full-time positions with eight vacancies and a five-year authorized average of 55.95 FTEs, a figure Campbell said is “skewed a bit low” because of recent staff transfers into OSB.

The request that drew the most attention was Governor Little’s proposed one-time $15 million public–private workforce capacity grant. The grant would fund institutional infrastructure related to workforce training and in-demand careers and would require private matching. According to Joshua (Josh) Whitworth, OSB executive director, awards would match private funds 1:1 for Boise State University, Idaho State University and the University of Idaho, and at a 1:2 ratio for Lewis-Clark State College and the four community colleges. Whitworth said the grant aims to expand capacity where industry demand exists, citing fields such as mining, forestry, nuclear engineering, welding and mechatronics.

Committee members asked for a refined list of eligible programs and expected outcomes before making funding decisions. “That driver of that partnership is one indicator of demand,” Whitworth said, describing the role of technical advisory and business committees and the state workforce development council in identifying priorities.

Lawmakers also questioned continued growth in OSB staffing, transfers of functions into OSB and several FY2026 enhancement requests. Representative Petzke expressed concern that the office had grown from about 60–61 FTEs to more than 80 and asked whether functions should remain centralized or be returned to institutions. Whitworth said recent additions—transfers of IT and data management from the State Department of Education, transfers of internal audit and risk management staff from individual institutions, and the school safety and security program move from Division of Building Safety—were intended to reduce duplication and improve systemwide consistency. He said the OSB now supports roughly 300,000 K–12 students with centralized IT and data services and that contractors currently perform much of that work, which the agency argues is more cost-effective to staff internally over time.

Legislators pressed for documentation: Senator Cook asked for contractor expenditure history, a description of the IT maintenance backlog, and measurable outcomes tied to requested IT positions. Representative Tanner and others requested an IT plan and workload/metric comparisons showing current contractor costs versus the cost of in-house staff.

Committee members also discussed Independent Study Idaho, a long-running program Campbell described as a flexible delivery option for nontraditional students that charges about $160 per credit. Whitworth said much of the program’s funding comes from fees and that the request before the committee would revise base funding because fee revenue is not adequately covering costs.

On diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, Whitworth and legislators clarified funding sources: Whitworth said many services were paid by student or user fees rather than direct appropriations. Senator Wintrow and others confirmed that, per earlier reports to a working group, no direct appropriated funds were supporting centers or program services focused on historically marginalized communities and that student fees were the primary source.

Campbell noted other OSB budget details: a $30 million ongoing Empowering Parents grant added in FY2024; a transfer of a $5 million broadband program from the State Department of Education in FY2025; the school safety and security assessment fund receives an annual $300,000 transfer from the public school income fund; and a number of ongoing and one-time enhancement requests for positions (including IT systems and infrastructure engineer, database engineer and policy positions), threat-assessment implementation, and replacement vehicles and computers.

Several legislators requested follow-up. Representative Petzke and Senator Cook asked for the OSB IT plan, contractor cost histories, and performance targets that would allow the committee to evaluate the return on investment for requested positions and projects. Representative Horman asked which FY2026 requests require legislation; Whitworth identified the behavioral threat assessment teams request as the one requiring statutory change and said it has a sponsor in committee.

The committee did not take votes on OSB actions during this session; members asked staff to provide additional documentation as the budget deliberations continue.

Ending

Members of the workgroup asked OSB staff for follow-up materials including: the IT long-term plan and contractor cost data; a refined eligibility and outcomes list for the proposed workforce grant; clarification of which enhancement requests require legislation; and performance metrics for Independent Study Idaho. OSB officials agreed to provide written follow-ups to the committee.