Boise State University has accommodated enrollment growth and expanded graduate offerings by spending reserves, increasing class sizes and asking more of its faculty.

But in a guest opinion, BSU President Bob Kustra said the state has not made higher education a funding priority — and budgets continue to lag behind growth.

Wrote Kustra: “The students we educate today will provide the next generation of leadership for Idaho’s economy and its communities. Let’s not shortchange our future by making incremental decisions in the state budget that force Idaho to remain near the bottom of states contributing to the national priority of producing graduates who can participate in a fiercely competitive global economy.”

Here’s a link to my coverage of Kustra’s presentation to the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee last week.

In another Stateman guest opinion Sunday, Boise School Board member Troy Rohn offered his take on the rejection of the Students Come First laws — and education reforms already under way, such as the Common Core standards, scheduled to go into effect in 2014-15.

Wrote Rohn: “Common Core represents a huge, fundamental shift in how we will teach our students: the new standards are far more rigorous and involve more in-depth understanding than anything our children have previously experienced. These standards emphasize teaching math more in-depth, and teaching English and language arts through not just classic books but also historical documents and technical manuals.”