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If you operated an airline and more people were making reservations, would you slash routes 
and boost fares? If you ran a dental office and more people needed cavities filled,
would you cut your hours and send them home? Of course not. So why in the world does Idaho choose to cut back on higher education in the middle of a recession? People lose jobs in recessions. Eager to land on their feet, many show
enough initiative and faith in the future to put themselves back in a
classroom, acquiring the skills to become competitive in the new job
market. Lewis-Clark State College’s heat count surged to 4,200, cresting the 4,000 mark for the first time. At the University of Idaho, enrollments rose slightly to 11,957. After shedding students to the newly created College of Western Idaho,
Boise State University’s enrollment still was up 2.3 percent for a
total of 18,936, Even Idaho State University had more students, up 6.6 percent to 13,493/Marty Trillhaase, Lewiston Tribune. More here.
Question: Does Gov. Otter have any choice but to order a 6% cut in spendiing for higher education?
D.F. Oliveria is a columnist and blogger for The Spokesman-Review. Huckleberries Online was judged the best 2008 Idaho newspaper blog by the Idaho Press Club. And the best 2007 news blog in the Pacific Northwest by the Society for Professional Journalist. Print Huckleberries is a past winner of the Herb Caen Memorial Column contest by the National Association of Newspaper Columnists. The Readership Institute of Northwestern University cited this blog as a good example of online community journalism.
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Dale Courtney on September 27 at 9:25 a.m.
Education spending makes up 50% of the Idaho State Budget.
There is no way of balancing the budget if the largest line-item is off the table.
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