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State Board outlines scholarships and grants budget, seeks software-engineer funding and updates on educator incentive program
Summary
The Office of the State Board of Education presented the Scholarships and Grants program budget, including requests for Bridal and Underserved Educator Incentive Program funding and a software-engineer position to support public-facing scholarship databases.
The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee heard a briefing on the Scholarships and Grants program administered by the Office of the State Board of Education, which manages the Opportunity Scholarship, the Bridal and Underserved Educator Incentive Program and other state grant programs.
Program overview and recent additions
Analyst Kevin Campbell outlined that roughly 99.5% of the program's spending is trustee and benefit payments (scholarship awards) and about 0.5% is personnel. Recent legislative actions added new programs and funding: the Opportunity Scholarship received $7,000,000 in FY 2021; the Bridal and Underserved Educator Incentive Program began in FY 2023 with follow-up appropriations in FY 2024 and FY 2025. In FY 2025 the legislature appropriated $749,600 to the Bridal and Underserved program.
FY 2026 requests and technology staffing
The board requested $1,375,000 for the Bridal and Underserved Educator Incentive Program for FY 2026 and an additional $124,000 for a software-engineer position to maintain and upgrade public-facing scholarship databases and application systems. Executive Director Josh Whitworth told the committee scholarship systems require maintenance, upgrades and security work and that "there is a significant backlog of work, which current staffing levels cannot address."
Performance and outcome measures
Committee members asked for outcome data showing whether the incentive programs are meeting goals such as recruitment and retention in rural and underserved districts. Whitworth said the board will compile and return with metrics describing how many teachers participated and the program's effect on recruitment and retention. Co-chair requests included district-level detail and a rural vs. underserved breakdown.
Ending
Committee members asked the State Board to provide data on program outcomes and on the effect of scholarships on access and completion for eligible students. The board committed to returning performance details.
