Originally posted on IdahoEdNews.org on August 22, 2025
BOISE, ID – Boise State University is bracing for the possibility of more budget cuts next year — while it weathers a $4 million cut for this year.
“The Boise State budget office will start modeling (2027 budget) reductions in the amount of 2, 4 and 6 percent,” interim Chief Financial Officer Stacy Pearson said in a memo to the campus community Friday.
Based on this year’s general fund budget for Boise State, a 2% cut equates to $2.7 million. A 4% cut comes to $5.4 million, and a 6% cut translates to nearly $8.1 million.
The 2027 budget cut scenarios are a new twist, as Idaho faces its most severe budget crunch in five years.
On May 29, Gov. Brad Little’s Division of Financial Management told state agencies to plan for possible budget holdbacks — midstream spending cuts for the 2025-26 spending year that began on July 1. The memo ordered agencies to “internally prepare” for holdbacks of 2%, 4% and 6%.
Those holdbacks came a week ago, when Little ordered a 3% general fund budget cut across much of state government. Public schools were exempt. The rest of state government, including higher education, took the 3% hit. It was the first time since 2020, and the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, that Idaho has imposed midyear budget cuts.
But Boise State is preparing for the possibility that this year’s cuts will not be a one-off.
“While this (2025-26) reduction of 3% is announced as a one-time reduction, we have also been asked to plan additional reductions for the (2026-27) budget year,” Pearson wrote.
The origin of the request was a bit murky Friday.
Boise State spokeswoman Stephany Galbreaith said the State Board of Education asked the university to draw up plans for budget cuts. On Friday, spokeswoman Marissa Morrison said the State Board did not make the request. But in a followup email, Morrison said the board has told colleges and universities to follow the DFM’s guidelines to make sure they are “appropriately preparing their budgets.”
The May 29 DFM memo says the $450 million in tax cuts and tax credits passed in 2025 will cut into state revenue for 2026-27, and instructs agencies to submit “maintenance” budget requests for next year, with no new programs or spending increases. “As we continue to watch revenue projections for (2025-26) and (2026-27) … we are asking all state agencies to internally prepare 2%, 4%, and 6% budget holdback scenarios to have in place as we continue to watch economic trends at the national level,” the memo says.
DFM has not asked state agencies to submit plans for possible budget cuts for 2026-27 — at least not yet.
Next year’s agency budget requests are due at the end of the month. DFM won’t ask for plans for possible 2026-27 budget cuts until October at the earliest, Administrator Lori Wolff told Idaho Education News Friday. DFM wants to see August and September tax collections before asking for budget-cutting scenarios.
Sluggish tax collections, and this year’s spate of tax cuts and tax credits, have left the state staring at a potential $79.9 million deficit for this year.
Little’s holdbacks are designed to erase this year’s deficit, albeit narrowly. They will cut state spending by $86 million. Higher education will take a $13.3 million hit, and that includes $4 million at Boise State.
Boise State will absorb this $4 million through savings, including position vacancies.
And for now, Pearson said, Boise State will spend cautiously.
“The university continues to be financially sound in spite of these budget challenges,” Pearson said. “However, we will not be in a position to fund new initiatives until we have a better understanding of the impact of these state funding reductions combined with the growth in enrollment revenues.”
