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College of Eastern Idaho urges more CTE funding to clear wait lists; asks for $2 million ongoing from community‑college CTE pot
Summary
At a JFAC hearing, College of Eastern Idaho President Lori Barber described rapid growth since 2017, chronic capacity constraints (465 students on CTE wait lists in fall 2024) and asked that CEI receive at least $2 million ongoing from a $10 million community‑college CTE allocation to expand programs and hire faculty.
Kevin Campbell of the Legislative Services Office briefed the Joint Finance‑Appropriation Committee on the College of Eastern Idaho’s (CEI) base budget request and noted CEI’s FY2024 appropriation of $7,003,700. Campbell said CEI has grown from about 700 students when it was Eastern Idaho Technical College to roughly 3,600 degree‑seeking students and more than 14,000 workforce‑training participants.
Lori Barber, president of the College of Eastern Idaho, told the committee the college is capacity constrained after rapid growth. Barber said CEI’s nursing program has expanded from 35 students in 2017 to a capacity to enroll 220 and that, in fall 2024, the college had roughly 465 students seeking space in CTE programs that the college could not place because of capacity limits.
Barber described local industry demand and employer partnerships that have expanded capacity in some programs: she said Idaho National Laboratory provided instructors for cybersecurity training, enabling CEI to nearly double cybersecurity enrollment, and that Teton Toyota partnered with CEI to build a micro‑credential apprenticeship for automotive technicians.
Barber told the committee CEI needs faculty, modern equipment and student‑support services to move students from wait lists into credentialed jobs. She said CEI has 20 full‑time faculty paid below the K‑12 average (cited in testimony as about $62,000) and estimated it would take about $2,260,000 to raise adjunct and full‑time faculty pay to that average. CEI asked the committee to consider a share of the $10 million set aside for community and technical colleges to expand CTE; Barber said, “an increase in our general fund allocation from that $10,000,000 of at least $2,000,000 ongoing would be absolutely transformational.”
Why it matters: Barber emphasized regional workforce demand—CEI serves Southeast Idaho where INL and regional hospitals are expanding—and said training more technicians and health‑care workers locally keeps talent in Idaho. She cited INL projections that the lab may hire about 2,800 new employees over the next five years and that industries need technicians in welding, diesel, cybersecurity and health fields.
Committee exchange and next steps: Committee members thanked CEI for outreach to employers and asked for program‑level uses of any EWA/enhancement funds. Barber said that, if CEI receives part of the state CTE funding, the college would use it to modernize equipment (welding, fabrication, mechatronics), hire science and math faculty to support prerequisites for health programs, and expand nursing and other high‑demand CTE seats.
No formal votes were taken. Barber closed by asking the committee to support the broader $25 million postsecondary package and to allocate at least $2 million ongoing of the $10 million CTE community‑college pot to CEI.
