Lawmakers review $10 million request to expand Idaho career-technical education capacity

The Joint Finance‑Appropriations Committee heard Feb. 10 from Legislative Services budget analyst Kevin Campbell and interim CTE administrator Joshua Whitworth about Career Technical Education’s FY2026 budget requests, including a governor‑recommended $10 million ongoing appropriation aimed at expanding capacity in high‑demand programs.

The request, Whitworth told the committee, is intended “to meet that critical need today” by funding faculty, facility upgrades and other ongoing costs at Idaho’s six technical colleges and secondary CTE programs. He said the money would be distributed by the CTE division as grants tied to industry engagement and performance reporting rather than as automatic equal shares to campuses.

The funding request follows several recent appropriations to CTE. Kevin Campbell told the committee that recent actions included $5 million ongoing for CTE readiness in middle and high schools, $10 million one‑time for secondary CTE programs, $5 million one‑time for equipment and a range of ongoing and one‑time staff and equipment enhancements in FY2024 and FY2025. For FY2026, CTE is also requesting $664,000 ongoing for additional instructors, $125,400 for a business‑industry engagement manager, $50,000 for adult education and literacy and $125,700 in additional federal grant spending authority.

Why it matters: committee members said CTE investments affect current workforce shortages in fields such as nursing and welding and influence the ability of Idaho businesses to hire skilled workers. Several legislators told the division they are concerned about…