Lawmakers press CTE on waitlists, faculty and $10 million governor capacity request

Kevin Campbell, a budget and policy analyst with the Legislative Services Office, told the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee on Feb. 10 that the Division of Career Technical Education (CTE) is central to Idaho’s workforce development and outlined the division’s base budget and FY2026 requests, including a $10 million ongoing gubernatorial recommendation to build capacity in high‑demand CTE programs.

The request arrives as CTE and the State Board’s interim administrator, Joshua Whitworth, told the committee demand for CTE programs has surged. “We are seeing large demand across the entire career technical education ecosystem,” Whitworth said, adding the constraints are now “faculty and facility” simultaneously as programs grow.

Why it matters: CTE trains students at secondary schools, six technical colleges and adult education and workforce centers statewide and supplies workers in skilled trades that local employers say they need. Committee members pressed CTE staff for details about which programs are oversubscribed, how the governor’s $10 million would be allocated, and whether proposed new roles duplicate existing workforce efforts.

CTE structure, funds and recent appropriations

Campbell summarized that CTE’s system includes programs at secondary schools, the six technical colleges (College of Eastern Idaho; College of Southern Idaho; College of Western Idaho; North Idaho College; Lewis‑Clark State College; and Idaho State University), educator services, and related adult…