Dwight Johnson, administrator of the Idaho Division of Professional-Technical Education, told the Associated Taxpayers of Idaho this morning that his division will be requesting a 10 percent increase in its funding in the upcoming legislative session, with the aim of a big boost in high school graduates who’ve competed PTE courses. Johnson said high school graduates who took two or more professional-technical education classes now have a “go-on rate,” meaning they go on to some form of higher education after high school, of 63 percent, compared to Idaho’s overall average of 53 percent.

“If we’re going to move the dial on the 60 percent goal that the governor articulated this morning, I think we can get the biggest bang for our buck through really investing in career and technical education," Johnson said.

Johnson was named Idaho PTE chief in 2014 after serving for the past 20 years as a senior administrator at the state departments of Labor and Commerce. He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from BYU, a master’s in public administration from BSU, and is a candidate for a Ph.D in organizational learning and leadership from the University of Idaho.