State education office seeks $15 million workforce grant, adds staff after transfers of IT and safety programs

The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee on Thursday reviewed the Office of the State Board of Education's (OSB) budget and heard officials describe recent staff transfers, several program enhancements and a governor-proposed one-time public–private workforce capacity grant.

Kevin Campbell, a budget and policy analyst with the Legislative Services Office, delivered the OSB presentation and said the office now has 84.25 authorized full-time positions with eight vacancies and that the agency's five-year average authorized full-time position count is 55.95, a figure Mr. Campbell said is “skewed a bit low” because of recent transfers.

The governor’s largest single FY2026 request for the office is a one-time $15 million workforce capacity grant that would require matching private donations. According to Mr. Campbell and OSB Executive Director Joshua Whitworth, the proposed grant would award funds to institutions that raise private dollars to match state investments at a 1-to-1 ratio for Boise State University, Idaho State University and the University of Idaho, and at a 1-to-2 ratio for Lewis–Clark State College and the four community colleges.

Why it matters: committee members asked whether the centralization of audit, IT and school-safety staff under OSB has improved efficiency and whether the board’s expanded role should be funded centrally or returned to individual institutions.

Whitworth, introduced to the…