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College of Eastern Idaho says CTE wait lists top 400; seeks $2 million of statewide CTE funds
Summary
College of Eastern Idaho President Laurie Barber told JFAC the college served nearly 4,000 credit students on a campus built for about 1,000, had roughly 465 students on CTE wait lists in fall 2024 and asked that CEI receive $2 million of the governor’s community/technical college CTE funding to expand capacity.
BOISE — College of Eastern Idaho President Laurie Barber told the Joint Finance‑Appropriations Committee that CEI is capacity‑constrained and would use a share of proposed statewide CTE funds to expand programs, hire instructors and upgrade equipment.
Kevin Campbell, a budget and policy analyst with the Legislative Services Office, presented the college’s base budget overview and told the committee CEI’s FY 2024 appropriation was $7,003,700 and that CEI typically spends 100% of its state allocation. Campbell said CEI’s current enrollment includes about 3,600 degree‑seeking students and more than 14,000 workforce‑training participants.
Laurie Barber, president of the College of Eastern Idaho, said rapid regional growth — from defense and energy employers to hospitals and manufacturers — has driven demand that outpaces the college’s physical capacity. Barber said the campus built in February 2007 now serves “just under 4,000” credit students in a single semester on the same physical footprint that previously served about 1,000.
Barber told the committee CEI had “465 students who wanted a place that we didn't have a chair for” in CTE programs in fall 2024 and that the college routinely redirects students into prerequisites or general education when programs are full. She said the college’s nursing program expanded from 35 students in 2017 to capacity for 220 and that CEI’s workforce training division provided more than 14,000 trainings serving 54 local employers in FY 2024.
Barber described pay pressure for faculty and staff and said CEI has 20 full‑time faculty below the regional K‑12 average salary (about $62,000). She told the committee raising adjunct and full‑time faculty pay to the K‑12 average would cost “$2,260,000” by her estimate; she also emphasized the need for academic advisors, financial aid staff and registrars to support students.
Committee members discussed a governor’s proposal that includes $10 million and $15 million buckets for community and technical colleges and Barber said CEI would use a portion of that money for CTE programs: modernizing welding and fabrication equipment, expanding nursing and healthcare pre‑requisite faculty (science and math hires) and increasing capacity in mechatronics, cybersecurity and allied trades. Barber said an increase of at least $2,000,000 ongoing from the community college share would be “transformational” for CEI.
Barber said the college has pursued employer partnerships to expand capacity without relying solely on state funding. She described arrangements with the Idaho National Laboratory to provide cybersecurity instructors and with Teton Toyota to run a micro‑credential, on‑the‑job apprenticeship program for automotive technicians.
Legislators asked for details on how CEI would allocate EWA and enhancement funds; Barber identified hires in science and math that would support CTE prerequisites and said the college can specify the faculty positions and equipment purchases if state funds are provided. No formal committee action or votes were taken during CEI’s presentation.
