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Scholarship and grants program seeks funding for rural educator incentives and IT support
Summary
The Office of the State Board of Education’s Scholarships and Grants program requested $1.375 million for the BridAl and Underserved Educator Incentive Program and $124,000 for a software engineer to maintain public-facing scholarship systems.
Kevin Campbell, Legislative Services Office analyst, presented the Scholarship and Grants budget, which the office of the State Board of Education administers. Campbell told the committee the program manages multiple scholarship and grant programs and that almost all spending is trustee and benefit payments rather than personnel.
Josh Whitworth, executive director of the State Board of Education, said some related workload is borne by staff funded in other agency budgets, which helps explain the program’s low personnel share. Campbell said scholarship spending varies with award cycles and applicant volume; that timing can make year-to-year spending appear uneven.
The program requested $1,375,000 in FY2026 for the BridAl and Underserved Educator Incentive Program and a $124,000 request for a software engineer position to maintain and secure multiple public-facing scholarship databases and web interfaces. Campbell said the office maintains a backlog of system maintenance and security work that current staffing cannot address and said the 2026 request included a $1,200 correction related to the 2025 collective employee compensation calculation.
Legislators asked about performance and outcomes. Whitworth said the board will provide additional data on program outcomes and agreed to report on whether the BridAl and Underserved Educator Incentive Program is meeting its recruitment and retention goals in rural and underserved districts. He noted the Opportunity Scholarship is aimed at lower-income students and the Launch program and other outreach have helped increase postsecondary attendance in Idaho.
Why it matters: the BridAl and Underserved Educator Incentive Program and other scholarships target workforce needs in rural and underserved areas; committee members asked for outcome data to judge continued funding. The software-engineer request is intended to maintain secure, accessible application systems used by students and families.
