State Board of Education staff growth, IT needs and $15M workforce grant top OSB FY2026 request

Kevin Campbell, a budget and policy analyst for the Legislative Services Office, told the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee the Office of the State Board of Education (OSB) oversees managerial, financial and coordinating functions for K-12 and higher education and is created under Idaho Code section 33-101. "My name is Kevin Campbell. I am a Budget and Policy Analyst with the Legislative Services Office," he said while presenting OSB's budget and staffing data.

The presentation explained that OSB now has 84.25 authorized full-time positions (FTPs) with eight vacancies and a five-year average authorized FTP count of 55.95, a figure the analyst said is "skewed a bit low" because of recent transfers of staff and functions into OSB. Campbell said the three OSB divisions are OSB administration, IT and data management, and the school safety and security program.

The agency's FY2026 request highlighted the governor's single largest enhancement proposal for OSB: a one-time "public–private workforce capacity grant" of $15 million to expand institutional capacity for workforce training. Campbell summarized the grant as proposed to "allow institutions to build infrastructure capacity if it relates to workforce training and in-demand careers," and said it would require institutions to raise private dollars to…