Oregon Public Broadcasting

The Idaho legislature's budget committee is meeting one-by-one with state agency heads as it looks for places to cut spending.

Monday university presidents took their turn in the hot seat. They stressed their school's economic clout within the state. Doug Nadvornick reports.

University of Idaho President Duane Nellis came to Boise with a new economic impact study.

He told members of the Joint Finance Appropriations Committee the study shows his university contributes a billion dollars to the state economy.

He says that's about two percent of the Idaho's total economic activity.

Nellis says he also reminded legislators that the university has already absorbed  significant cuts in the last year.

Duane Nellis: "I tried to communicate that further cuts were going to erode our ability to continue to provide that return on investment. It could potentially erode the quality of our degree programs."

This week, budget writers in Boise are focusing on education, both K-12 and higher ed.

Over the next several weeks, the committee will meet with the heads of other state agencies.

In late February and March, lawmakers will start writing the budget that will guide Idaho for the next two years.