POST warns of funding squeeze as academy attendance, tuition and training costs rise

Boise — Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Administrator Brad Johnson told the Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee on Feb. 12 that the agency’s dedicated-revenue model has produced shortfalls and prompted recent one-time transfers, even as academy demand and training costs recover from COVID-era declines.

POST certifies officers, accredits training and supports statewide law-enforcement curricula; at the hearing Johnson described a mix of short-term replacement requests and a small personnel conversion to reduce certification backlogs. “The patrol academy, I think right now we're at about $12,000, as an apportion cost to attend that training,” Brad Johnson said, describing the tuition-equivalent cost POST uses to calculate repayment agreements when trainees leave the profession within the agreed period.

Why it matters: POST provides the basic training and certification the state’s law enforcement workforce depends on. The agency told lawmakers that declining dedicated revenues, rising…