Two competing motions on higher ed funding

Sen. Dean Mortimer, R-Idaho Falls, proposed the first motion this morning on funding for Idaho’s state colleges and universities. His proposal gives universities a 14.1 percent cut in state funding next year, and a 7.8 percent overall cut. Rep. Shirley Ringo, D-Moscow, then proposed a competing plan, which is similar except that it would borrow from a $25 million school facilities fund to restore $5.7 million in federal stimulus money that the colleges and universities lost this year when it was shifted to public schools, due to federal guidelines that didn’t match last year’s budget-setting. “Obviously, it doesn’t fix the problem for colleges and universities, because they’ve lost a lot of funding with the cuts, and they can ill afford it,” Ringo said.

Ringo’s motion results in a similar 14.1 percent decrease in state general funds, but a lower 6.4 percent decrease in total funding. Neither motion includes specific funding for the Center for Advanced Energy Studies, a joint UI-BSU-ISU research facility in Idaho Falls, but the State Board of Education is directed to fund that from a portion of the final $4.3 million in federal stimulus money that colleges would get next year.