Little celebrated program for boosting Idaho’s go-on rates. What will cuts mean?
Gov. Brad Little signed a bill Tuesday that would divert millions in grant funding for Launch, a program he has championed for increasing the number of Idaho students who go on to higher education or other career training.
But the governor’s office said it still expects to have enough money to keep up with the need. Launch provides students with grants of up to $8,000 for education or training programs in certain in-demand fields.
Senate Bill 1332, which the Legislature passed earlier this month, transfers $10 million from the In-Demand Careers Fund to the state’s general fund for both this and next fiscal year. This year’s transfer would come mainly from unused money from that program. Next year’s cuts will impact the high school students who are applying for grants now. But that transfer doesn’t need to be made until on or after Dec. 31 of this year, once the awards have been “obligated and reconciled,” according to the bill.
“The governor believes this one-time transfer will not affect this year’s LAUNCH awards based on how applications are trending at this point in time,” Emily Callihan, Little’s spokesperson, said in an email to the Idaho Statesman.
The Idaho Workforce Development Council, which is responsible for the program along with the governor’s office, expects there will be available funding to meet the projected needs for graduating high school seniors, she added.
Little “signed the bill because the one-time transfer helps to responsibly balance the budget while preserving the program’s ability to meet commitments this year,” Callihan said.
In total, the bill transfers over $100 million into the general fund.
Little has promoted the Launch program since its creation, and it has become a centerpiece of his agenda. He called the effectiveness of Launch in boosting Idaho’s go-on rate “unmistakable,” in a news release last year. In January, he again praised the program’s success, and pointed to a report that found since Launch was created, more students have gone on to attend Idaho’s public colleges and universities.
“LAUNCH remains one of my top priorities for one simple reason — it’s working,” Little said in his State of the State address. “More Idaho kids are choosing to stay in Idaho after high school than ever before. Postsecondary enrollment is declining across the nation, but not in Idaho. Idaho is bucking the trend.”
Last month, the executive director of the Workforce Development Council told Idaho Education News that the $10 million transfer for this year would cut into the awards that could be given.
Lawmakers are dealing with a difficult budget year and have been looking for places to cut spending. Little also signed another bill this week that requires most state agencies to cut an additional 1% from their budgets this fiscal year, beyond the 3% holdbacks the governor ordered last year. The cuts didn’t affect the K-12 education budget.
