JFAC passes $4 million cuts to Boise State, U of I over DEI concerns
Boise State University and University of Idaho are each poised to take a $2 million hit to their budget next year — the latest fallout from a years-long battle over diversity, equity and inclusion policies.
The Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee approved the cuts Tuesday morning on a split vote. Most of the opposition came from state senators on the committee.
The collective $4 million in proposed cuts do not target any specific program or division within Boise State or U of I.
“They need to start listening to the legislature as a whole on the direction that we want them to actually go and hopefully this sends them a slight message to them to straighten their act up,” said House Assistant Republican Leader Josh Tanner (R-Eagle).
Legislators have long criticized Idaho’s colleges and universities for supporting multicultural graduations, women’s centers or offices catering to other ethnicities.
Those were paid for without taxpayer dollars.
Boise State and U of I shuttered their DEI-related offices last year around the time the Idaho State Board of Education ordered them closed across the higher education system.
Rep. Elaine Price (R-Coeur d’Alene) said these cuts are a start, but more needs to be done.
“We have the power of the purse and if we expect to see a change then I think this legislature needs to use that,” Price said.
Tanner also brought up last year’s fight over U of I’s planned $685 million purchase of the University of Phoenix.
U of I planned to pay for the acquisition using its own cash and bonding authority. That’s why school officials didn’t notify the legislature of the deal beforehand, something President Scott Green apologized for.
“They thought they just knew best,” Tanner said.
State senators eventually killed a last-ditch effort to keep the Phoenix deal alive shortly before adjourning in 2024.
Sen. Codi Galloway (R-Boise), who previously voted against college and university budgets for anti-DEI reasons, led Tuesday’s push to reject the proposed $4 million cuts.
Galloway said it’s unfair to retaliate against Boise State and U of I after they closed their DEI-related facilities as requested.
“If we continue to punish and be punitive to our universities, we lose our negotiating power,” she said, noting there’s little incentive for the schools to work with legislators in the future should the cuts pass.
Rep. James Petzke (R-Meridian), who also opposed the cuts, said he received a text message from a U of I representative telling him the school plans to slash its newest programs.
“So their mining degree would be the thing to go away,” said Petzke. “What we’re talking about doing here is firing professors and getting rid of programs.”
A motion to pass the budget without the $4 million in cuts eventually failed on a tied vote. The cuts faced far more opposition from state senators, passing 13-7.
JFAC co-chair, Rep. Wendy Horman (R-Idaho Falls), said she wouldn’t describe the cuts as a "punishment."
“I am using the word ‘pragmatic,’” Horman said, noting many House Republicans wanted larger cuts.
“This is a pragmatic solution to try and move a budget off our floor,” she said.
JFAC also required the nonpartisan Legislative Services Office to audit Boise State, Idaho State University, Lewis-Clark State College and U of I to ensure compliance with the state’s anti-DEI laws.
Tanner wanted to claw any settlement U of I gets from the fizzled University of Phoenix deal into the state’s general fund, but the move failed.
The school could reclaim up to $20 million after spending at least $14 million on the deal according to Idaho Education News.
The proposed $4 million cuts to Boise State and U of I still need approval from the House and Senate before they could reach the governor’s desk.
Idaho Senate passes ban on toplessness and possibly 'truck nuts'
Changes to Idaho’s indecent exposure law are heading to the governor’s desk, though they could have unintended consequences.
House Bill 270 came at the request of Nampa City Council and other entities after last year’s Canyon County Pride event.
It makes it a misdemeanor to expose female breasts, or those “that have been medically or hormonally altered to appear like developing or developed female breasts.”
The proposal would not apply to breastfeeding mothers.
“Our local prosecutors and everybody is asking for this and, again, it’s not OK to expose yourself in public,” said Sen. Brian Lenney (R-Nampa).
Displaying toys or other products resembling genitalia would also be a misdemeanor under the bill.
Senate Democratic Leader Melissa Wintrow (D-Boise) said that clause applies to replicas of scrotums hanging from people’s trailer hitches.
“They call them ‘truck nuts,’” said Wintrow. “They’re gross, they’re offensive and kids on the road see them, so why wouldn’t the police get a call [saying], ‘That offends me. Pull it off the truck.’ Because now this bill will allow it.”
She said the proposal is also unfairly targeting the transgender community, something Lenney denies.
“It’s not OK to expose yourself or to flaunt around sex toys in a weird way in public. That’s who [this bill is] an attack on,” he said.
A third conviction under either part of this proposal would be a felony with a maximum prison sentence of five years.
The measure easily passed the Senate and already passed the House last month.
Gov. Brad Little has five days to sign, veto or let the bill pass into law without his signature once it hits his desk later this week.
Sex ed may become an opt-in class at ID public schools
Parents across Idaho may soon have to opt in their children for sex education lessons at public schools.
State senators passed a bill yesterday [Tue] to override opt-out policies used by local school districts for decades.
"Once a child is exposed to sensitive material, they cannot unsee it," Sen. Tammy Nichols (R-Middleton), one of the bill’s sponsors, said.
She said it’s a parent’s right to oversee every aspect of their child’s education.
Parents could sue their school district under the bill if they don’t enforce it.
Senate Assistant Democratic Leader James Ruchti said these decisions should lie within each school district and NOT the state.
"Because it allows these issues to be worked out locally," Ruchti said. "It forces local stakeholders and members of the community to work together to solve these problems."
Supporters of the bill have tried to pass similar legislation for the past several years.
House lawmakers must agree to some technical amendments before Gov. Brad Little could weigh in on the issue.
Spokanites to vote on aquifer protection funding
Spokane city voters will have a chance to decide whether to rejoin the county Aquifer Protection Area in a coming election.
The APA provides long-term water quality monitoring for the Spokane Valley-Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer.
If voters decide to rejoin the APA, single family residential properties connected to water within the city would pay 15 dollars a year.
Spokane County Water Resources Specialist Ben Brattebo told SPR News that money goes toward water quality protection in aquifers.
He said part of that protection is educational resources for property owners to help prevent things like fertilizers from leaching into the groundwater, which is as close as 50 feet below the surface in some locations.
"It's not protected by any, what we call in geology, a confining layer. It's actually just sand and gravel right on top," he said. "So if things, chemicals or pollutants are on the surface, they can pretty easily make their way down to the water table and then contaminate the water supply."
The city participated in the APA from its inception in the 1980s until 2004, when voters renewed their approval but the city chose to pull out of the agreement.
Reauthorization of the APA takes place every 20 years.
Record-tying or breaking temperatures expected in INW today
Spokane and much of the Inland Northwest could see record high temperatures for this time of year Wednesday.
According to the National Weather Service, its Felts Field office could see a high of 74 degrees.
The last time Spokane was that warm in March was 1881.
The warm weather doesn’t just mean it’s a good time to get outdoors though, NWS meteorologist Steven Van Horn said.
"It's going to melt the snow at mid and higher elevation, so we’re talking about that 3000- to 5000-feet elevations," he told SPR News. "And so we are going to be seeing rises on our rivers across the region, most notably into the Idaho Panhandle”
Still, Van Horn said the NWS doesn't predict flooding from the snowmelt.
After Wednesday's warmth, Thursday is expected to cool back down to usual spring temperatures, including a rain and chance of thunderstorms.
Spokane welcomes NCAA women's March Madness final rounds
Teams begin arriving Wednesday, March 26, for this weekend’s NCAA women’s basketball regional semifinals and finals at the Spokane Arena.
The games begin Friday night. In one regional, Louisiana State and North Carolina State square off at 4:30 p.m., followed by Mississippi and University of California, Los Angeles at 7 p.m. The winners play Sunday at noon.
In the other regional, Oklahoma and Connecticut match-up Saturday at 2:30 p.m., followed by Kansas State and University of Southern California at 5 p.m. The winners play Monday night at 6.
The games aren’t the only events during tournament week. Tuesday, the NCAA sponsored a panel discussion about the growth in popularity of women’s sports at Spokane’s Montvale Event Center.
Women are now leading athletic departments at several major universities, including Terry Gawlik at the University of Idaho.
"You don't have to be a former coach or administrator. You can be a businesswoman. You could be a lawyer. You could be an agent. It's changed a lot," Gawlick said during the panel discussion. "I think it's opened up and people realize that women can get it done. We're multitaskers, and this job is certainly a multitasking job."
Also this weekend, Washington Trust Bank is throwing a fan fest party at the north end of Riverfront Park, Saturday at noon.
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Reporting by James Dawson, Owen Henderson and Doug Nadvornick.