ISU president vows accountability after forensic lab funding transfer; budget analyst flags tuition‑fund reporting error

Idaho State University President Rob Wagner and Legislative Services Office budget analyst Kevin Campbell appeared before the Joint Finance‑Appropriations Committee on Jan. 29 to present ISU’s FY2026 budget request and to answer questions about state funds originally appropriated for an Eastern Idaho forensic pathology laboratory.

Campbell began the presentation with an overview of ISU’s finances and enrollment. "Idaho State University has an enrollment of more than 12,000 students, supported by 1,244 FTE and a base budget of $171,100,000," Kevin Campbell, Budget and Policy Analyst, Legislative Services Office, told the committee. He also flagged a technical reporting error in the tuition‑and‑fees slide and said the Legislative Services Office is tracking down the discrepancy; he confirmed ISU has not overdrawn its state treasury account.

Why it matters: the committee uses the hearings to weigh budget requests and to ensure state appropriations are used according to legislative intent. Lawmakers pressed ISU leadership about an item that became a focus in the media: money the Legislature appropriated for a forensic pathology lab intended to serve Eastern Idaho.

Wagner described the lab matter as an accountability failure that predates his presidency but said ISU will correct processes and return…