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Budget cut of 9.7 percent likely
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The forecast for Boise State’s budget is shaping up to resemble the worst case scenario considered by administrators last fall.
BSU President Charles Ruch and Gov. Dirk Kempthorne addressed the issue in separate speeches last week, and both said painful measures will be necessary to meet budget shortfalls.
The budget proposed to the Legislature by Kempthorne calls for a cut of 9.7 percent for colleges and universities.
In Kempthorne’s budget address to the joint session of the Legislature last Wednesday, he detailed how the collapse of the nation’s longest economic expansion has left the state of Idaho with $111 million less than anticipated.
His proposed budget would cover the shortfall by slashing almost all state agencies by an average of 10 percent. The only agencies to be spared budget cuts would be K-12 education, Medicaid, Corrections and Veterans Affairs.
Kempthorne briefly touched on the issue of funding for higher education, noting that it would be sharing in the state’s financial challenges.
He praised the higher education system, stating, “We have great faculty and great leaders in our colleges and universities, and our greatest assets are our students.”
Beyond such glowing praise, however, he had little to offer that would ease the pain of budget cuts. The only action proposed in his budget was a provision to add $3 million to continue the Promise Scholarship through its second year. The Promise Scholarship provides $250 per semester for four semesters and is available to recent Idaho high school graduates who achieved a high school GPA of at least 3.0.
The proposed budget cuts approach the worst case scenario of 10.56 percent projected by BSU administrators last fall, and all but ensures that Boise State will petition the State Board of Education for a 12 percent student fee increase for next year.
Ruch addressed the issue of budget cuts in his spring semester welcome back address on Jan. 7. However, he didn’t provide specifics on how BSU might cut costs to cover the anticipated shortfall, saying only that the administration will be asking for suggestions on saving money.
The plan envisioned by administrators last fall calls for students to cover half the anticipated shortfall via the proposed 12 percent student fee increase. The remaining half is to be made up by the administration through budget cuts.
Ruch said in his address that students might also face an additional 10 percent fee increase the following year if necessary.
Ruch offered assurances that quality would not suffer. But he did not rule out the possibility of faculty cuts, stating, “I wish I could look you in the eye and say I could balance the budget with the same amount of faculty as we had last semester.”
In addition, Ruch said there might also be salary cuts as well.
This prompted Marcy Newman, a first-year professor in the English Department, to rise and confront Ruch over the possibility of faculty and salary cuts. Newman vehemently demanded that Ruch guarantee that neither faculty or salaries be cut.
She pointed out that Bob Hoover, president of the University of Idaho, had promised his faculty last fall that he would protect them from layoffs and salary cuts.
A stunned Ruch responded, “I’d love to say: ‘Sure, OK!’ But, then if I don’t do it, you’re going to be yapping at me.”
The university will have a clearer picture of the actual budget cuts next Wednesday, Jan. 23, when the Joint Finance Appropriations Committee holds its budget hearing for Boise State.
Andy Benson, The Arbiter
