Legislators Hear CTE Budget Pitch as State Sees Large Demand for Welding, Nursing and Other Programs

The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee on Feb. 10 heard an overview of the Division of Career Technical Education’s (CTE) base budget and FY2026 requests, including a governor-recommended $10 million ongoing fund aimed at expanding capacity in high-demand programs such as welding and nursing.

Kevin Campbell, a budget and policy analyst with the Legislative Services Office, summarized the division’s structure and funding streams and noted that CTE’s costs are concentrated in personnel and trustee/benefit payments. Joshua Whitworth, interim state administrator for the CTE division, told the committee the requests respond to “massive growth of demand” across secondary and postsecondary programs and called attention to wait lists in multiple programs.

CTE’s budget presentation listed several recent appropriations and requests. Recent and proposed funding highlights included: - $10,000,000 one-time general fund for secondary CTE programs (recent appropriation). - $5,000,000 one-time for equipment and one-time investments in postsecondary CTE programs (recent appropriation). - $5,000,000 ongoing from the general fund for CTE readiness in middle and high schools (recent appropriation). - Governor-recommended $10,000,000 ongoing to build capacity in high-demand CTE programs (FY2026 recommendation). - A FY2026 request for $664,000 ongoing to add instructors at capacity-constrained postsecondary programs and $125,400 for a business–industry engagement manager. - Smaller requests: $50,000 for adult education and literacy; $240,000 for development of an educator certification module in the CTE data system; additional federal grant spending authority noted in the presentation.

“CTE gets a chance to engage not just at the secondary, but secondary through our postsecondary,” Whitworth said. “We are seeing large demand across the entire career technical education ecosystem.” He described the proposed $10 million as a grant program that would require business partners to match or engage with institutions so state money would target programs with verifiable employer demand.

Committee members pressed CTE leadership on several implementation points. Representative Miller asked whether capacity constraints come from facilities or faculty; Whitworth said both are limiting factors and described a “three-leg” model of demand, faculty and facilities that must be addressed in tandem. Whitworth agreed to provide the committee with a list of oversubscribed programs and additional details on supply constraints.

Representative Price asked about the proposed business–industry engagement manager. Whitworth and Tracy Bent, chief administrative officer for the CTE division, said current efforts to connect schools and employers are often ad hoc at the district level; the requested position would embed support to help rural or smaller school districts build partnerships and public–private contributions in equipment and other supports.

Several legislators cited welding and nursing as top demand areas. “The need for welders is going through the roof,” Whitworth said, citing statewide industrial growth and projects with large fabrication needs. He said the division would expand seats at existing programs rather than stand up entirely new programs.

Members also asked about overlapping programs and funding sources. Senator Hart asked whether the Launch program (a workforce grant program) duplicates CTE work; Whitworth said the two are “intimately tied” and play complementary roles — Launch helps students afford education while CTE focuses on program quality and delivery.

Fiscal and fund-balance questions were raised. Representative Tanner and Senator Berkey asked about the Hazardous Materials and Waste Enforcement Fund (used for hazmat/firefighter training) and whether reported negative balances reflected reporting errors or spending. Whitworth said staff would follow up and provide corrected accounting. Tanner also questioned the growth of the Motorcycle Safety Fund balance and asked whether fee or program adjustments were needed; Whitworth said CTE would review the fund’s balance and spending alignment.

Members asked for more detail on the governor’s $10 million ongoing recommendation. Whitworth described the proposal as a competitive, industry-engaged grant that would be distributed by the CTE division to technical colleges and districts based on demand and employer participation. He said the division planned to require reporting on outcomes and would rotate funds among high-demand programs over a multiyear period to avoid permanent allocations to a single program.

No formal votes or motions were recorded in the committee’s transcript for CTE funding during this meeting. Committee members repeatedly requested follow-up detail on oversubscribed programs, the design and oversight of the $10 million grant, and fund accounting for special funds described in CTE’s presentation.

The committee adjourned CTE questioning after Whitworth’s closing remarks thanking the committee for prior support and emphasizing the division’s role in meeting workforce needs.