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National events, economic slowdowns cause administration to tighten belts
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The Stock Market resumed trading this week, and investors continue to hope for a rebound in the economic downturn, which began before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and shows little sign of recovering.
Boise State and the rest of Idaho’s government institutions, ordered earlier this month to trim their budgets by 2 percent by the end of September, rely on state and federal income taxes to keep things running.
“The 2 percent holdback was based on the governor’s direction and conviction that state revenues are way behind what they were expected to be,” said BSU President Charles Ruch.
“The governor’s economic advisers are telling him that the taxes aren’t coming in the way they used to. This is affecting all spending institutions.”
“Funding for Boise State and the entire state of Idaho is very dependent on corporate and individual income taxes to fill out their budgets,” said Stacy Pearson, associate vice president of Finance and Administration.
According to Pearson, as the economy does poorly, the money for the State Board of Education decreases, and this, in turn, affects the money alloted for BSU.
Boise State Vice President of Finance and Administration Buster Neel said the university is currently enacting a hiring freeze.
“We carefully review every request to fill vacant positions, and it is very unlikely that any new positions will be approved unless there is a solid outside funding source,” he said.
National events and economic trends around the United States have consequences in the funding available in Idaho as well.
“As a result of higher defense spending and fewer national income tax receipts, we also receive fewer grants and projects from the federal government,” said Pearson.
“This is an extraordinary period of all of our lives,” said Ruch. “It’s too early to tell anything.”
Neel said the economic slump may result in reduced services for students in a variety of areas.
“The real concern is that these reductions will become permanent and may actually increase if the economy continues its downward trend,” he said.
Compounding the funding problems is increased enrollment at Boise State.
This year, BSU became the first Idaho institution to have an enrollment higher than 17,000 students, with the largest freshman class ever, more than 2,300 students.
“The enrollment increases during poor economic times,” said Pearson. “People come looking for more education because they have been laid-off; they seek additional training, or another degree.”
In the not too distant future, Neel said, Ruch’s Executive Budget Committee may have to look at long-term approaches to resolving these revenue shortfalls.
He said it was too early to suggest what those actions might be, but all possible solutions would be considered.
“It will be a collegial effort on the part of the entire campus to find these answers,” Neel said.
Matt Neznanski