JFAC approves spending cuts, placing higher ed on the chopping block

The Legislature’s budget committee Friday endorsed $46.3 million of additional spending cuts for the next two years, which could come largely from higher education budgets.

Several big budgets are exempt from the sweeping proposals — including K-12, which accounts for nearly half of all state spending. But with K-12, Medicaid, prisons and Idaho State Police off the table, a disproportionate share of the cuts could fall to the public colleges and universities.