POCATELLO (AP) — The president of the University of Idaho charged Friday the appropriation bill for higher education, passed Thursday in the Idaho House, will nullify advancements his administration has worked for In the past three years.
Dr. Ernest Hartung criticized the appropriation figures at a session of the State Board of Education. It was announced that the chairman of the university’s anthropology department has resigned in the face of the appropriation.
“The university can’t move forward with less than a 12 per cent annual increase in funds, and the approved budget for the next biennium will be 8 per cent,” Hartung told the board.
He said the amount will leave the university facing “total frustration” in the next biennium. He said he thinks the only alternative will be to ask for a supplemental appropriation when the legislature meets next January.
Eldon W, (Dick) Smith, Rexburg, the board chairman, said in Idaho Falls some cutbacks will be needed at Idaho, Idaho State and Boise State.
He said the exact adjustments will not be known until later, but he said it likely would knock out the summer school program at Idaho and restrict the new anthropology program there.
The compromise higher education amount is placed at $48.25 from the general fund, slightly below that recommended by the board but above that of the governor.
Hartung said a committee will have to be formed to work with legislators and others to come up with a formula for funding higher education.
Lack Understanding
“There has been a total lack of understanding of the problems involved in considering future university needs,” Hartung said.
In other business at Pocatello Friday, the board accepted a pilot project conducted at Lewis-Clark Normal School to determine classroom utilization. But the members decided to discuss the project with the presidents of other institutions before deciding whether or not to conduct similar studies elsewhere.
William Seifrit, of the Commission for Higher Education Facilities, presented a 10-year projection of higher education enrollment in the state.
It estimates the on-campus enrollments of Idaho, Idaho State University, and Boise State College at 8,025, 7,759 and 7,555 respectively in 1978. The study was conducted with the ISU Governmental Research Institute.
This story was published in the March 22, 1969, edition of the Lewiston Tribune.
