ISU president says forensic-lab funds will be returned after review; university pledges tighter oversight

Idaho State University President Robert Wagner told the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee on Jan. 29 that funds originally appropriated to build an Eastern Idaho forensic pathology laboratory will be returned to the state after a review of how the money was handled.

Wagner said the Legislature recognized the need for a forensic pathology lab to serve eastern Idaho and that the appropriation was intended to house a facility on ISU’s Pocatello campus with opportunities for health-science students to train there. He told the committee that, in late 2023, the county partner decided a campus facility was not desirable and, following a memorandum of understanding, the remaining funds were transferred to the county. Wagner said ISU had spent a small portion of the appropriation on a consultant and that the remainder will be returned to the state.

The matter drew committee attention after media reporting. Committee co-chairs asked Legislative Services Office staff to prepare a factual report; Budget and Policy Analyst Kevin Campbell told the committee that an audit request is in process and that the analyst report is available online. At the hearing, Wagner acknowledged errors in how ISU tracked ownership of the funds and said the university would improve its internal controls. "Legislative intent is law and it's incredibly important for us as an institution when those funds come to us that we take full and complete responsibility and realize and understand what that intent is," Wagner said.

Representative Mark Manwaring, who asked for details on the university’s process, said the committee had reviewed the report and welcomed Wagner’s leadership. "These funds are going to go back and the legislative intent will be followed," Manwaring said.

Wagner described several accountability steps ISU is implementing under his leadership, including clarifying which entity ‘‘owns’’ specific legislative appropriations, establishing invoice procedures when a third party will operate a program, and improving tracking to ensure funds are used according to legislative intent. He said those changes follow his review of communications and decision making between the county and ISU.

Kevin Campbell, the Legislative Services analyst who presented the ISU budget overview earlier in the meeting, told members the report and supporting materials are available to the committee and public, and that the audit process will check whether any statutory lines were crossed. The analyst noted a technical error in the tuition and fees slide in his packet but confirmed ISU has not overdrawn its state treasury account.

The committee did not take a formal vote on the matter during the Jan. 29 meeting. Members asked that staff and university leaders continue to respond to follow-up requests and to provide documentation of returned funds once the process is complete.

Wagner said the episode informed his broader approach to stewardship and transparency at ISU and pledged the university would take responsibility for legislative funds going forward.