The University of Idaho Argonaut

Proposed budget is necessary,  shouldn’t last long

On Tuesday, lawmakers in Boise approved the 2011 fiscal year budget for higher education. The four schools in Idaho under the budget — including the University of Idaho — will receive $32.1 million less next year than was allotted in 2010.

This was expected. During the current fiscal year, the state has held back funds to practically every corner of the government, including UI. Now the cuts are expected and cemented in the budget, with an estimated $8 to $10 million for UI. Although UI might be able to handle the cuts better since this year’s holdbacks made the university more frugal than it would have been.

Education is the top priority of the state. It accounts for over 60 percent of the general fund spending. Unfortunately this means it has to take a big share of the cuts in hard times.

Let’s hope these cuts are only for the recession, and the state will make up for lost time once the surplus returns.

Until then, UI needs money, and the only way to bring in meaningful amounts of money is through tax and fee increases. Neither option is popular. Residents can protest all they want, but one of them — or possibly both — is going to happen.

Annual UI student fees have to increase $1,600 to become proportionally equal to Washington State University’s tuition and fees when taking average state income into account.

When not adjusting for income, UI’s costs are about $2,000 less than the national average. An education here is not free, but it is relatively affordable. If we have to pay a little bit for that, it’s worth it.

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