This article published with permission of the Idaho Freedom Foundation
While other Republican-controlled states are making moves to contain the leftism incubators that are their public colleges and universities, Idaho lawmakers are gearing up to do the opposite. The Legislature’s budget committee voted Thursday to continue funding woke positions and programs at Boise State University, the University of Idaho, Idaho State University, and Lewis-Clark State College.
With the exception of just a few legislative budget writers, in particular Sen. Scott Herndon, who presented a conservative budget that too few followed, lawmakers gave a thumbs up to diversity, equity, and inclusion programs at the schools. It was a bi-partisan vote, so the news media will love it. Republican and Democrat budget writers also voted down a motion to defund the taxpayer-funded portion of National Public Radio affiliates at Boise State and Idaho State.
That’s not to say that lawmakers did nothing, but they came about as close to nothing as humanly possible: They issued a directive that “the college and universities shall verify no state appropriated funds are used to support diversity, equity, inclusion, or social justice ideology as part of any student activities, clubs, events, or organizations on campus.”
That sounds fantastic until you consider that the Legislature is expected to appropriate $678.6 million to the schools next year, which has historically been about 42% of the approximately $1.6 billion the schools will spend on funds from all sources. Diversity, equity, and inclusion staff funded by Micron Technology, an example given by the college presidents, would still be funded. It’s a giant loophole, meant to be exploited while giving phony “conservatives” a chance to brag to constituents that they did something.
Moreover, given the fact that the colleges and universities previously ignored a directive from the 2021 Legislature not to spend money on social justice programs, one would expect the same result this time.
The House or the Senate could still reject the budget. They should do so and hold out for a real one. This wouldn’t be the least bit weird, either. Other states have already taken steps to reduce or eliminate spending on diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and staff.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has been leading the charge to rid his state’s schools of entrenched wokeism.
In Iowa, lawmakers are considering a bill that would ban all funds — public or private — from being spent on diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and staff in that state’s higher education system.
In Georgia, lawmakers want to end discriminatory statements as part of college hiring practices.
What is Idaho doing? Very little, except protecting the education indoctrination efforts that have destroyed other states and threaten Idaho.
2 replies on “Idaho budget writers again give cover to leftism on college and university campuses”
Once again, I must state clearly that if an issue is created locally, it should be expressed in local terms but if an issue is local that wasn’t local by origin and was created and planned and implemented globally, it should be expressed in terms of its origin or it makes the issues seem less significant than it really is. This may appear to be about local budgets and education and is in one sense is but why is there never mention of the global connection to these issues or how they are connected to a greater issue? In my comments on previous issues, I had stated a global component and I feel it is needed here as well. Governments colluding with corporations and NGO’s as well as churches are the action team working in multi-faceted areas to bring about the new global order. This is CFR created, and to be UN controlled. It is connected to environmentalism, gender, revisionist history, borders, food, water, land, ESG and travel. I am just hoping people will start calling it what it is, Agenda 2030 fulfilling The Great Reset and the enslavement of humanity. If the people are not educated, how can they possibly bring awareness of it to their representatives? Afterall, is it their fault or the people’s fault because we get the government we deserve? We have a globalized economic dependency and a globalized education system (UNESCO), can’t we just call it what it is, Globalism? Can’t we and shouldn’t we educate ourselves and educate and hold our leaders accountable? We sure can’t if we don’t know, can we?
Happy to see your still active in reform Tom.
I would love to live long enough to see Citizens assume the Constitutional Oath Enforcement authority & powers that our Nation’s Founders granted us with to promptly oust their documented outlaw politicians.
Expecting public servant’s to self-govern their morals , ethics & honesty over spending of billions of taxpayer dollars makes a good fairytale.
Some Idahoan’s may recall a few years back we Citizens voted unanimously for Term Limits.. That vote was nullified by our public servants on basis that we lacked the knowledge to make that decision. Same public servants made the same call on citizen requests for Ethics Reform.
As stated prior, public apathy has given us the dictatorship we deserve.