JFAC narrows college and university budget; debate over cuts to Boise State and U of I continues

The Joint Finance‑Appropriations Committee advanced a compromise college and university budget that includes a mix of targeted increases and systemwide corrections while sparking debate over $2 million reductions proposed for Boise State University and the University of Idaho.

Kevin Campbell, a budget and policy analyst with the Legislative Services Office, outlined the request items, saying the package covered operational capacity, health benefits corrections and enrollment workload adjustments. “Number 1 is the operational capacity enhancement at 336-9900… Number 4 is a request for, dollars 15,000 to produce training materials related to minors trust,” Campbell said when presenting the item.

The motion offered by Representative Bryce combined multiple adjustments: an operational capacity enhancement of $3,369,900; corrections to FY2025 health benefits and CEC calculations; a $1,388,700 dedicated‑fund endowment adjustment; $1,023,500 for the enrollment workload adjustment; $387,000 ongoing for a Lewis‑Clark State College salary adjustment; and a $1,000,000 ongoing general fund allocation to support operating expenditures for the Idaho Water Resources Research Institute. The motion also proposed reducing general fund ongoing allocations by $2,000,000 at Boise State and $2,000,000 at the University of Idaho.

The reductions of $2 million at each institution produced the sharpest debate. Representative Petzke asked what programs or positions would be cut, saying, “What we're talking about doing here is firing professors and getting rid of programs.” In reply, co‑chair Herrmann (addressing concerns over the effect of cuts) said the institutions would determine how to respond to base reductions.

Supporters of the reductions framed them as a legislative tool to push institutions toward compliance with state policy. Co‑chair Herrmann described the motion as “a pragmatic solution to try and move a budget off of our floor,” and later said the net fiscal impact to Boise State would be small after other offsets. Opponents said the reductions would force program cuts. Representative Petzke warned that the cuts could eliminate early‑stage programs and staff.

Senator Galloway offered a substitute motion that removed the $2 million punitive reductions and increased the total general‑fund add to $5,557,300, arguing that “if we continue to punish and be punitive to our universities, we lose our negotiating power.” The substitute motion failed in a tied vote across both chambers (a roll‑call tally recorded a 10–10 split), and the committee returned to the original motion. The original motion passed in committee but did not achieve a majority in the senate; committee staff recorded that because the senate did not produce a majority in favor, the college and university motion will be transmitted to the senate for further action.

Committee members also discussed program‑specific items: the Lewis‑Clark salary adjustment was framed as a parity step to bring starting faculty pay closer to K–12 teacher averages, and the $1,000,000 for the Idaho Water Resources Research Institute was described as a system‑wide operating allocation.

The committee moved several technical corrections and systemwide formula adjustments (health benefits, CEC corrections and enrollment workload) as part of the final package. No formal language imposing new statutory changes was adopted during this item; members said any broader policy changes (for example, to restrict non‑appropriated DEI spending) would need to be handled through a separate policy bill.

The committee sent the college and university budget language and underlying motions on to the senate for further consideration.