An educated workforce is essential to a strong economy. Across Idaho, our community colleges and universities prepare young people and adults pivoting in their careers. They connect rural communities to opportunity and power industries. Yet instead of strengthening these institutions, Republican leaders are dismantling them piece by piece.

This month, Brad Little hosted the annual Governor’s Cup, a glamorous event for lobbyists and political insiders that raises money for scholarships. Those scholarships matter for the few dozen students who receive them, but the governor’s public celebration was breathtakingly hypocritical. While he posed for photos, his administration and Republican allies stripped tens of millions from campuses statewide.

The first round of budget holdbacks announced last month will take $13.3 million from post-secondary institutions. That comes on top of $4 million in punitive cuts passed earlier this year, in retaliation for diversity efforts. This political stunt followed the shutdown of programs like the 50-year-old University of Idaho Women’s Center, which had been closed to appease GOP lawmakers.

Worse, a looming $167 million state deficit, driven by Trump’s federal tax changes, means higher education will almost certainly face even deeper cuts in the months ahead.

Idaho universities are also losing vital research dollars. More than $64 million in federal funding has been cut, ranking Idaho fourth nationally in per student losses. The largest, a $59 million University of Idaho grant, would have helped farmers adopt sustainable practices for crops such as barley, potatoes, and wheat, while creating hands-on learning opportunities for students. Its loss is a direct blow to both the agricultural industry that feeds us and the next generation of Idaho innovators.

Investing in higher education research pays off. Every dollar invested generates $2.56 in returns, meaning the $64 million already cut would have fueled more than $160 million in statewide economic growth.

Earlier generations knew what it took to create opportunity. The G.I. Bill ushered in unprecedented prosperity by enabling World War II veterans, like my grandfather, to pursue a degree. In my father’s time, Idaho funded a much larger share of higher education costs. He paid for college classes at what was then Boise Junior College (now Boise State) with wages from his summer job.

Decades of disinvestment have made the math impossible for today’s students. These new cuts will put career pathways even further out of reach.

If we want the next generation to build their lives here, we must recommit to education. That means investing in our universities, protecting research funding, and halting the political attacks on our institutions of learning. Otherwise, Idaho will continue to lose its best and brightest—not because they want to leave, but because our leaders have left them no reason to stay.

Onward,

Lauren Necochea
Idaho Democratic Party Chair