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 committee as executive director of the State Board of Education, defended the consolidations and described a board priority he called “systemness” — coordinating systemwide work to reduce duplicative, siloed efforts. He said internal audit, risk management and IT functions were centralized so the board can provide consistent policies and efficiency across the institutions the board governs. He added that the IT and data team supports roughly 300,000 students across K-12 and higher education and cited cybersecurity and rural-district service needs as drivers of increased IT staffing.

The committee also heard that the board absorbed the school-safety and security program in fiscal 2022. The program’s dedicated assessment fund receives an annual statutory transfer of $300,000 from the public school income fund, Mr. Campbell said, and the fund pays for annual assessments of K‑12 school compliance with the board-endorsed safety guidelines.

OSB requested 14 other ongoing enhancements in FY2026, Mr. Campbell said. He listed five new requested positions by title: IT systems and infrastructure engineer, database engineer, education effectiveness program manager, education policy analyst and an Empowering Parents program analyst. Other requested items include support for behavioral threat assessment teams and a revision to the base funding model for the Independent Study Idaho program.

Questions from committee members focused on the pace of OSB staffing growth and where savings or offsetting reductions occurred after transfers. Representative Petzke asked why the centralized office continues to grow and whether funds would be better spent directly at institutions. Whitworth responded that many transfers were net-zero moves from other agencies, that audit and risk functions provide oversight across institutions, and that school-safety staff and IT were moved to provide consistent statewide support.

Independent Study Idaho: Members pressed for more detail about the Independent Study Idaho program, which Whitworth said is a flexible, nontraditional delivery model for students — including “a single parent” who cannot attend regular class schedules — where students can take courses at their own pace. Whitworth said most of the program is fee-funded (roughly $160 per credit) and that growing costs have strained the self-funded model; the OSB has requested a base-budget revision for the program to address funding shortfalls.

DEI, student fees and appropriations: Several legislators sought clarity about whether the board had appropriated funds for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs. A committee member on the anti‑DEI working group stated that “there are no appropriated funds going for any of the program services or centers that are focused on historically marginalized communities … they’re being done on student fees,” and OSB representatives confirmed the majority of services in question are funded through student or user fees rather than the general fund. The board’s staff told the committee they are auditing indirect costs and fee structures to ensure user fees are applied appropriately.

Public–private grant eligibility and outcomes: Committee members asked how the proposed public–private workforce capacity grant would prioritize programs. Whitworth said the board would look to industry advisory and technical advisory committees and the state’s in‑demand career lists to target funding to high‑demand programs such as mining, forestry, welding, fabrication and nuclear-related technical work. He said the grant’s matching requirement is intended to ensure industry demand and local buy‑in.

What’s next: Mr. Campbell and Director Whitworth offered to provide follow-up materials requested by the committee, including which FY2026 requests would require underlying legislation, a detailed IT plan showing long-term needs and contractor costs, further information on Independent Study Idaho enrollment and outcomes, and a refined list of programs that would be eligible for the workforce capacity grant.

Ending note: Committee members asked for documentation showing which program transfers into OSB were net-zero moves from other agencies. Whitworth told the committee that most transfers were net-zero and offered to provide specifics.