State Board budget review highlights $15M workforce grant proposal, staff growth and centralization

Kevin Campbell, a budget and policy analyst with the Legislative Services Office, presented the Office of the State Board of Education budget to the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee, describing staff growth, recent transfers into the office and the major enhancement proposals for FY 2026.

Campbell said the Office of the State Board (OSB) now has 84.25 authorized full‑time‑equivalent positions with eight vacancies and a five‑year average authorized FTE count of 55.95, a figure he called “skewed a bit low” because several positions were recently transferred into OSB from other entities. He told the committee that over the past five years roughly 90% of appropriated personnel dollars have been spent on staff costs and that trustee and benefit payments make up the largest share of OSB’s budget.

The most prominent new request in the FY 2026 budget is Governor Little’s proposed one‑time $15,000,000 public–private workforce capacity grant. Campbell summarized the proposal: “This grant will allow institutions to build infrastructure capacity if it relates to workforce training and in demand careers and incentivize institutions to partner with local community members to raise funds for the projects.” He said awards would require private matching at a 1:1 ratio for Boise State…