Unlike the other community colleges in Idaho, the new College of Eastern Idaho is recommended for a substantial budget boost next year – as it begins its new life as a full community college; it formerly was Eastern Idaho Technical College, but voters approved the creation of a new community college district, including agreeing to pay property taxes to support it.

There are three line items in the CEI budget request: $1.1 million in transfers from the division of Career-Technical Education to the new college; $3.9 million and 72 new positions to support academic operations, as CEI moves from a technical college to a full, associate’s degree-granting community college; and $200,000 for administrative services staff, to be funded by the new college’s share of state liquor funds. All were recommended for funding by Gov. Butch Otter.

After Rick Aman, president of the new college, finished his budget pitch to the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee this morning, Rep. Wendy Horman, R-Idaho Falls, told JFAC, “We are in the presence of nothing short of a miracle worker here, to take a technical college and move it into a community college in a matter of a few short months, with full accreditation, offering an associate degree. It is truly nothing short of a miracle.” Horman said she wanted to credit those in the room, including the heads of Idaho’s other three community colleges. “We have a tremendous team approach in our community colleges,” Horman said. “I want to recognize them for the support that they offered that made this transition possible.”

Aman told the lawmakers, “The community college is a very unique American institution. It is a privilege to be a member of that, knowing that our mission is one of remedial education, career-technical education, transfer of academic students to the university, and of course the workforce upgrade and transition. You now have four community colleges and presidents who are working together. It is a privilege to have been working with these three presidents in the past, and now I actually get to sit at the big table with them, so I’m looking forward to that.”

Aman said all four share the common mission of the community college, along a recognition of the particular needs of each of the four regions of the state.