Boise State University and University of Idaho are each poised to take a $2 million hit to their budget next year – the latest fallout from a years-long battle over diversity, equity and inclusion policies.
The Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee approved the cuts Tuesday morning on a split vote. Most of the opposition came from state senators on the committee.
The collective $4 million in proposed cuts do not target any specific program or division within Boise State or U of I.
“They need to start listening to the legislature as a whole on the direction that we want them to actually go and hopefully this sends them a slight message to them to straighten their act up,” said House Assistant Republican Leader Josh Tanner (R-Eagle).
Legislators have long criticized Idaho’s colleges and universities for supporting multicultural graduations, women’s centers or offices catering to other ethnicities.
Those were paid for without taxpayer dollars.
Boise State and U of I shuttered their DEI-related offices last year around the time the Idaho State Board of Education ordered them closed across the higher education system.
Rep. Elaine Price (R-Coeur d’Alene) said these cuts are a start, but more needs to be done.
“We have the power of the purse and if we expect to see a change then I think this legislature needs to use that,” Price said.
Tanner also brought up last year’s fight over U of I’s planned $685 million purchase of the University of Phoenix.
U of I planned to pay for the acquisition using its own cash and bonding authority. That’s why school officials didn’t notify the legislature of the deal beforehand, something President Scott Green apologized for.
“They thought they just knew best,” Tanner said.
State senators eventually killed a last-ditch effort to keep the Phoenix deal alive shortly before adjourning in 2024.
Sen. Codi Galloway (R-Boise), who previously voted against college and university budgets for anti-DEI reasons, led Tuesday’s push to reject the proposed $4 million cuts.
Galloway said it’s unfair to retaliate against Boise State and U of I after they closed their DEI-related facilities as requested.
“If we continue to punish and be punitive to our universities, we lose our negotiating power,” she said, noting there’s little incentive for the schools to work with legislators in the future should the cuts pass.
Rep. James Petzke (R-Meridian), who also opposed the cuts, said he received a text message from a U of I representative telling him the school plans to slash its newest programs.
“So their mining degree would be the thing to go away,” said Petzke. “What we’re talking about doing here is firing professors and getting rid of programs.”
A motion to pass the budget without the $4 million in cuts eventually failed on a tied vote. The cuts faced far more opposition from state senators, passing 13-7.
JFAC co-chair, Rep. Wendy Horman (R-Idaho Falls), said she wouldn’t describe the cuts as a "punishment."
“I am using the word ‘pragmatic,’” Horman said, noting many House Republicans wanted larger cuts.
“This is a pragmatic solution to try and move a budget off our floor,” she said.
JFAC also required the nonpartisan Legislative Services Office to audit Boise State, Idaho State University, Lewis-Clark State College and U of I to ensure compliance with the state’s anti-DEI laws.
Tanner wanted to claw any settlement U of I gets from the fizzled University of Phoenix deal into the state’s general fund, but the move failed.
The school could reclaim up to $20 million after spending at least $14 million on the deal according to Idaho Education News.
The proposed $4 million cuts to Boise State and U of I still need approval from the House and Senate before they could reach the governor’s desk.
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