JFAC approves smaller package for State Board of Education after larger in-demand funding dropped

The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee on Tuesday approved a set of budget adjustments for the Office of the State Board of Education, including a one-year supplemental grant and a package of FY2026 program-maintenance additions, after removing a larger in-demand funding item that the House had defeated.

Kevin Campbell, budget and policy analyst with the Legislative Services Office, told the committee the item on the screen was a FY2025 supplemental for a credit mobility grant, a $40,000 one-year grant to help the state board identify options to improve portability and transfer of credits between institutions. "The credit mobility grant ... is a $40,000 grant, which extends over, from January 2025 to January 2026," Campbell said for the record.

Senator Ward Engelking moved approval of a $20,000 addition from the miscellaneous revenue fund for the FY2025 item; the motion was seconded by Representative Petzke and approved in roll call votes recorded by the committee. Later, Representative Petzke moved a FY2026 program-maintenance package that added 1 full-time position and $229,200 from the general fund plus $131,500 from dedicated funds for a total increase of $360,700. Petzke detailed line items including a database engineer (1.0 FTP, $144,200), $10,000 for a software support contract, $35,000 for cybersecurity testing, $12,500 for marketing the C Tel Now program, $20,000 for the credit mobility grant, $99,000 for replacement vehicles and $40,000 for OITS hardware. "I move for FY 2026 for the office of the State Board of Education an additional 1 FTP and $229,200 from the general fund and $131,500 from dedicated funds for a total of $360,700," Petzke said.

Committee debate focused on the removal of a $5 million item described in committee discussion as funding for in-demand workforce initiatives that were at wait-list capacity. "I think it's extremely unfortunate that this is getting removed entirely," Representative Petzke said. Senator Wintrow added, "This would incentivize and boost our economy quite well ... this is a travesty that we're not incentivizing and really taking initiative here," expressing concern about impacts on training pipelines, particularly in health care and direct care workforce shortages.

Senators and representatives defending the reduced package pointed to other recent allocations for workforce and facilities, including a separate $10 million for wait lists at technical schools and permanent building fund appropriations to campuses. "We did fund $10,000,000 for wait lists, for programs at our technical schools in the state," a cochair said during debate, noting additional funding for colleges and universities over recent years.

The FY2026 program-maintenance motion passed on a recorded vote reported by the committee as 17 ayes and 3 nays; subsequent language clarifying use of funds and removing a prior appropriation restriction was approved on a later roll call reported as 18 ayes and 2 nays. The committee recorded unanimous consent earlier for the FY2025 supplemental motion.

The committee recorded the motions and required language to accompany the due-pass recommendation to both chambers. Committee members said the measures will move forward to the next steps in the budget process, and staff will provide the adopted language with the JFAC recommendation.

Votes at a glance: the committee recorded affirmative votes to advance the FY2025 supplemental and the FY2026 program-maintenance package, with the larger $5 million in-demand line having been removed after earlier floor action in the House.