Legislative panel hears Idaho CTE requests as waitlists grow; governor proposes $10M ongoing

The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee on Monday, Feb. 10, heard an overview of the Division of Career Technical Education's (CTE) base budget and FY2026 requests as lawmakers pressed agency leaders about persistent waitlists and the governor's $10 million ongoing proposal to expand capacity.

Kevin Campbell, a budget and policy analyst with the Legislative Services Office, reviewed CTE's budget picture and recent appropriations. Joshua Whitworth, the executive director for the State Board of Education and interim state administrator for CTE, and CTE staff answered committee questions about program demand, faculty and facility constraints, and how proposed grants would be structured.

The hearing highlighted why the issue matters: committee members and agency staff described rapidly rising student demand for applied programs such as welding and nursing, industry needs for skilled workers, and a shortage of both instructional faculty and lab/classroom capacity that limits the number of students who can be served.

Campbell told the committee CTE spends most of its appropriation on postsecondary instruction and related trustee and benefit payments and detailed several recent appropriations: ongoing and one-time investments in FY2024 included $5,000,000 ongoing for CTE readiness in middle and high schools, a $10,000,000 one-time appropriation for secondary CTE programs and $5,000,000 one-time for equipment and postsecondary investments. For FY2026, Campbell said CTE requested $664,000 ongoing for additional instructors in at-capacity technical college programs,…