Following a recent trend of expanding funding for education, Gov. Jay Nixon made more than $8 million available last week to higher education.
The money will go toward two- and four-year institutions in Missouri, according to a news release. The funding became available after the release of Missouri’s January 2013 state revenue report.
An improvement in general revenue collections attributed to the additional resources. According to the January report, revenue collections increased by 18.4 percent compared to January 2012.
A total of $8,476,559 is now available to 23 state colleges and universities for the rest of fiscal year 2013, which runs until July. MU received the most funding, with $3,980,006.
Nixon also made $100,000 available to the State Historical Society of Missouri, which is located in Ellis Library.
“As a result of our strong commitment to fiscal discipline, Missouri’s perfect AAA credit rating is intact and our economy continues to gain momentum — adding more than 40,000 jobs last year,” the news release stated. “Today’s general revenue report reflects these positive trends and allows us to make this additional funding available for higher education institutions and other programs.”
The announcement comes on the heels of Nixon earmarking an additional $150 million for education in his proposed fiscal year 2014 state budget. If approved by the General Assembly, the budget would appropriate more than $34 million for higher education funding, $100 million for K-12 funding and $17 million for early childhood education.
“By making sure government lives within its means, we will continue to prepare students for 21st century careers and keep our economy moving forward,” Nixon said in the release.
Missouri State University received $793,429, the University of Central Missouri received $526,110 and Southeast Missouri State University received $428,861.
In addition to the funds allocated to higher education, Nixon also designated $480,000 to a trio of foster care programs. The foster care outdoor program received $200,000 while $180,000 was set aside for a health records system for children in foster care and an additional $100,000 will fund subsidies for the Hand Up Pilot Program.