College of Southern Idaho asks JFAC for $475,700 enrollment adjustment as enrollment surges

Kevin Campbell, a budget and policy analyst with the Legislative Services Office, presented the College of Southern Idaho (CSI) base budget and told the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee the college’s FY2026 request includes an enrollment workload adjustment of $475,700.

CSI President L. Dean Fisher told the committee the college experienced a 20% increase in fall 2024 enrollment (not including dual-credit students) and has added about 3,800 students since fall 2021. Fisher said the college needs additional capacity—faculty, staff and learning spaces—to sustain that growth and to address waiting lists in career and technical programs.

Why it matters: The request and testimony tie directly to workforce and CTE capacity across Idaho. Committee members pressed college leaders on where new instructors would be placed, program wait lists, and how state capacity-building money proposed by the governor would be used. If funded, the requested adjustment would pay for more instructors to reduce class sizes and shorten…