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POST and ISP detail training costs: $10,700 for academy vs. $231,600 per trooper
Summary
Committee members heard that the Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) 14-week academy costs about $10,700 per student while Idaho State Police estimates the total cost to recruit, equip and train a trooper at roughly $231,600; POST students sign a two-year repayment agreement if they leave certified employment.
Noah Peterson introduced the Peace Officer Standards and Training Academy (POST) budget and called forward Brad Johnson, POST division administrator, to answer questions. Johnson told the committee the standard POST 14-week patrol academy is estimated at about $10,700 per student for the direct training curriculum.
Christine Otto, financial executive officer for Idaho State Police, described the broader cost of producing an ISP trooper: "We estimate about $231,600 per trooper," Otto said, adding that this figure includes equipment, the ISP advanced training program, room and board and the first year of training and operations. Administrators clarified that POST’s $10,700 figure covers the 14‑week academy curriculum and that ISP’s higher per‑trooper number reflects additional agency costs when ISP hosts and equips its own recruits.
Brad Johnson described how POST is funded primarily through dedicated funds — notably the Peace Officers Training Fund and a misdemeanor-probation training fund — and noted revenue volatility affects year-to-year expenditures. He also said POST-certified college programs at Idaho State University and North Idaho College expand capacity and are audited and certified by the POST council.
Johnson confirmed that POST students sign a two-year agreement obligating them to repay training costs if they leave certified employment within that window; committee members asked whether the repayment period could be extended given the larger ISP investment in trooper training, and Johnson said the agency had not proposed lengthening the two-year term.
Committee members requested a more detailed breakout of how ISP uses unspent personnel dollars and how overtime and other measures are being applied to manage vacancies; Christine Otto agreed to provide those figures. The discussion clarified differences among POST (curriculum provider), ISP (agency-level trooper training and equipment), and college-hosted academies (certified by POST but varying in cost and structure).
