Washington State University acts as a pied piper to University of Idaho employees, drawing them across the border to the tune of higher wages — a trend that has been occurring for years. The employees are not to blame for leaving UI in favor of WSU, but rather the state of Idaho, which consistently refuses to raise wages for state employees to ones that are livable.
The Idaho State Legislature passed a 2 percent pay increase in 2012, which was the first pay increase for UI faculty and staff in four years. Over those four years and the two that have passed since, the cost-of-living adjustment, which is based on changes in the cost of living index, increased in total by an average of 14.9 percent, according to the Social Security Administration. This means UI employees are expected to live on a salary that is approximately 12.9 percent lower than needed to cover the average cost of living.
It is little wonder that many UI employees make the short trip to WSU — a university that offers a higher minimum wage and generally higher overall wages. After receiving training and education to fill jobs in the university environment from UI, employees are well equipped to work at a much higher paying university.
Employees leaving presents a critical problem for UI. Each former staff member that goes across the border represents time and money that must be spent training and finding their replacement. Without money to retain the existing workforce, UI is trapped in a never-ending circle of hiring.
But alas, the necessary funds are unlikely to come any time soon. Idaho’s long history of staunch “fiscal conservatism” is unlikely to disappear overnight or to provide all levels of education the necessary funding. It is far more likely the status quo of education funding will continue, which has resulted in Idaho being ranked No. 48 in K-12 education, according to Education Week.
A glimmer of hope for the future of education in Idaho was found in Friday’s public hearings on the state budget by the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee. Many people testified on the need for the state to raise education funding, and some supported an alternative state budget plan — Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy’s Responsible Alternative to the Executive Budget, which would allot more funding to higher education.
Public support, such as what was shown on Friday, is critical in demonstrating to the Legislature and other branches of the state government that funding for education needs to increase. Because without the public demanding for elected officials to give public education the funding it needs, the pathetic status quo of Idaho’s low education rating will continue.
— AE