Duane Nellis
University of Idaho President Duane Nellis has reversed a decision to eliminate the $42,000 maintenance budget for the school’s 63-acre arboretum and botanical garden.
Nellis told members of the Arboretum Associates support group that he would use reserve funds to restore the maintenance budget.
He also said the UI will allocate $30,000 in reserve funding for the 2012 fiscal year maintenance budget and work with arboretum supporters to find additional funding.
Nellis says the arboretum’s academic mission of museum-quality care and cataloging of plants and use as an outdoor classroom will be restored.
School officials had said the $42,000 reduction was part of a $200,000 facilities cut needed to balance the university’s budget. (AP)
