Public colleges and universities in Missouri received welcome news Tuesday when Gov. Jay Nixon submitted an amendment to restore $40 million worth of funding to these institutions.
The amendment comes after Nixon’s original budget stirred up controversy regarding higher education funding. The original budget included an approximate 12.5 percent cut to higher education funding, amounting to approximately $106 million of cuts.
The new money will come from a settlement between the state attorney general and the nation’s five largest mortgage banks over flawed and fraudulent foreclosure practices, according to a release from Nixon’s office.
Missouri is one of 49 states that are a part of a $26 billion settlement with the mortgage banks, according to a CNN report.
The state is expected to receive $140 million from the settlement, $40 million of which Nixon has allocated to higher education, according to the release. The UM System will receive $18.7 million of the $40 million, according to figures by Nixon’s budget office obtained by the Associated Press.
“This has been a lengthy and extremely complex settlement process, and I commend Attorney General Koster for his dedicated and persistent leadership at every stage of the negotiations,” Nixon said in the release. “This settlement with America’s largest mortgage banks will help the states and individual consumers continue their economic recovery.”
The UM System has previously recommended the Board of Curators increase tuition to combat the cuts.
“We are pleased that Gov. Nixon has reduced the budget cut for higher education from $106 million to $66 million,” UM System spokeswoman Jennifer Hollingshead said in a statement. “We are still determining what this change means to our tuition recommendation to the Board of Curators.”
Curators are expected to set tuition rates later this month.
Throughout the state, groups have been protesting the budget, including the Missouri Students Association. MSA passed a resolution against the cuts and has been collecting letter signatures in the MU Student Center to send to legislators.
“While Gov. Nixon’s restorations are absolutely a step in the right direction, they are only that — a starting step,” MSA Chief of Staff Steven Dickherber said in an email. “The higher education cuts being proposed now are still the largest Missouri will have seen in years and will be detrimental to not only students, but also faculty and staff at the university.”
As of Thursday, MSA had gathered approximately 5,000 letters to present to state lawmakers.
“Students should continue to voice their dissatisfaction through petitions and letters to Jefferson City,” Dickherber said.
Dickherber said the governor’s effort at compromise was great to see, but the cuts still are unacceptably high. Dickherber is a former Maneater staff member.
“The proposed cut will still represent a 20 percent cut to the UM System over three years,” Dickherber said.
Dickherber said MSA realizes cuts are necessary because of the state’s massive budget shortfall, but they are only a short-term solution. They believe cuts will make MU unaffordable to some students, meaning there will be fewer individuals equipped with an education to offer solutions to the budget crisis.
Nixon met with the chancellors of Missouri’s two- and four-year universities Thursday to explain the amendment, according to the release.
“We all are interested in making higher education more affordable and accessible,” Hollingshead said.
Despite yearly cuts to higher education funding, Nixon said he remains committed to higher education.
“My administration remains committed to working with our colleges and universities to make higher education more affordable and accessible for Missouri families,” Nixon said.
The Missouri Department of Higher Education declined to comment on the amendment.
