Idaho higher ed tuition could remain stable

BOISE — College and university tuition rates in Idaho could be frozen for a fourth consecutive year this fall, depending on what happens with the higher education budget.

The joint budget committee approved a $643 million fiscal 2023 budget for the state’s four public colleges and universities Wednesday.

That includes $338.1 million in state general fund support, which is a $25 million, 8% increase over the current year.

In a letter to lawmakers, State Board of Education President Kurt Liebich said if the budget is approved by the Legislature and signed into law, the four institutions “will commit to hold the line and not request an increase for resident, undergraduate tuition rates for fiscal 2023.”

Higher education budgets have failed on the House floor the last two years, largely because of concerns about alleged indoctrination.

Rep. Ron Nate, R-Rexburg, proposed an alternative budget Wednesday that provided a $12.8 million, 4% increase in general fund support. It specifically docked the University of Idaho, Boise State University and Idaho State University a total of $1.35 million for diversity and inclusion programs.

“This will further send a message that higher education ought to focus on education and not indoctrination,” he said.

Rep. Priscilla Giddings, R-White Bird, seconded the motion, which failed 17-2.

Sen. Carl Crabtree, R-Grangeville, and Rep. Caroline Troy, R-Genesee, supported another competing motion that provided slightly more general fund support for the institutions. However, it also zeroed out a $4 million transfer to Boise State from the Higher Education Stabilization Fund.

HESF is a rainy day saving account that collects interest earnings from university tuition.

Crabtree said he couldn’t support tapping a rainy day savings account at a time when the state is collecting record revenues.

“We talk about conservative decision-making, but I don’t know how to sell the idea of conservative decision-making when we have record revenues and yet we’re tapping rainy day funds to augment tuition,” he said.

Sen. Jeff Agenbroad, R-Nampa, noted that the rainy day account also uses one-time savings to support ongoing expenditures — something the budget committee tries hard not to do.

“For that reason, I’ll be supporting the substitute motion,” he said.

That motion, however, failed on a 10-9 vote, with Crabtree, Troy and Agenbroad voting in support and Giddings and Nate voting in opposition.

The original motion, which included the $4 million in savings, then passed on an 11-8 vote, with Crabtree, Troy and Giddings all voting in opposition.

The final budget eliminated a $2 million line item for UI, along with five full-time positions to expand the university’s digital learning infrastructure, which had been recommended by the governor.

Lewis-Clark State College, however, came out a winner under any of the proposed budgets. They all included $323,200 and two full-time positions for the school’s nontraditional learner program, plus $91,600 for cybersecurity compliance efforts and another $66,600 and one full-time position for Title IX support.

The committee also supported a request for $279,500 and four full-time positions for UI’s McClure Center for Public Policy Research. The center previously relied on grant funding for all of its work.

The committee also approved a $1.1 million supplemental request for start-up costs for a nuclear engineering program that will be shared by UI and ISU.

The higher education budget now heads to the House and Senate for further action.

Spence may be contacted at bspence@lmtribune.com or (208) 791-9168.