[Education and Welfare] Senate panel's budget spares higher education cuts

[Denny Huff]

Senate panel's budget spares higher education cuts

 

By 

Rudi Keller  

 

Wednesday, April 4, 2012  

 

JEFFERSON CITY - State colleges and universities will be spared budget cuts
in the coming year, the Senate Appropriations Committee decided this
morning.

 

 

It also appeared that a program that provides health care for about 2,800
blind Missourians, cut in the House to find money for higher education, also
is

likely to be spared cuts. 

 

After the committee recessed, Chairman Kurt Schaefer, R-Columbia, said the
action locks in the budget plan approved in the Missouri House that rejected

Gov. Jay Nixon's call for a $66 million cut to higher education budgets.

 

"This is enormous," Schaefer said. "We just took the most devastating cut to
higher education it has ever seen, and it is over." 

 

Restoring the blind health care funding is a top priority for Nixon. If
Schaefer wants the higher education allocations to survive Nixon's veto pen,
funding

the blind health care would be a place to start. 

 

The committee this morning began going over the $24 billion spending plan
for the year beginning July 1. The committee agreed to keep a $5 million
increase

in state basic aid to public education and made additional general revenue
available by limiting a proposed pay raise for state workers to those making

$45,000 or less. 

 

Overall, Schaefer told the committee he expects to present the Senate with a
budget that spends $40 million less in general revenue than the House
proposal.

 

 

The University of Missouri, in addition to receiving the $397.9 million
allocated by the House, would receive $182,000 to perform economic modeling
for

state job creation programs. That work is now done in the Department of
Economic Development. 

 

Nixon had recommended that the university receive $367.2 million, or about
$26 million less than he allowed the school to receive from this year's
appropriation.

 

 

Schaefer said he and House Budget Committee Chairman Ryan Silvey, R-Kansas
City, had "agreed public education would be a top priority, and we are
demonstrating

that in our actions on this budget." 

 

As he returned to his office from the committee meeting, Schaefer was
greeted by Gretchen Maune of Columbia, who was there to ask him to restore a
House

cut to health care services for the blind. Maune represents the Missouri
Council for the Blind and was in the Capitol as part of a lobbying day on
behalf

of the disabled. 

 

"Before I could say what I was doing, he said he's working on it," Maune
said, pleased that the cut is facing opposition in the Senate. "That is
definitely

a big assurance for me." 

 

The House budget plan found money for higher education by eliminating a $28
million program that provides health care for about 2,800 blind Missourians.

The House restored $2 million, and Nixon has proposed using $17.8 million
from a federal grant program as well. 

 

During the hearing, more conservative Republicans were rebuffed on proposed
cuts. Sen. Rob Schaaf, R-St. Joseph, wanted to remove $100,000 used to buy
lunches

for participants in Special Olympics events. "Here we are with a $500
million hole, and we are paying for lunch," Schaaf said, referring to the
amount

of belt-tightening measures needed to make the budget balance. 

 

And Sen. Jim Lembke, R-St. Louis, questioned the need for a $95,000
allocation for the Midwest Higher Education Compact, which provides bulk
purchasing

and other services to 130 Missouri colleges and universities. 

 

"Do they know we are cutting health care for blind?"  Lembke asked. 

 

"Who said we are cutting health care for the blind?" Schaefer responded.  

 

Reach Rudi Keller at 573-815-1709  or e-mail 

rkeller at columbiatribune.com.

 

 

____________________________________________________________________________
_

Denny Huff- President

Missouri Council of the Blind

P: (636) 262-1383

TF: (888) 362-1383

F: (314) 558-0298

Phone Cast: (816) 298-8969

 

DHuff at MoBlind.Org

www.moblind.org

The purpose of Missouri Council of the Blind shall be to promote the general
well-being of our members and legally blind people in Missouri, and to
support

or participate in other programs promoting the best interests of legally
blind people everywhere.

 

 

ENCOURAGEMENT FOR THE JOURNEY

Your host: Denny Huff

Listen live,

SUNDAY MORNINGS AT 8:00 AM CST

WWW.KLPW.COM

 

 

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