Higher Education Underfunded

A group of state lawmakers believe higher education is underfunded, and the University of Missouri system is getting the worst of it. This year, state higher education is receiving nearly $850-million. But some lawmakers believe it’s not enough, saying the colleges and universities are under-funded by nearly $400-million.Lawmakers tell ABC 17 News it’s extremely unlikely they’re going to find the money immediately. More than likely it’s going to take several years to make up the difference. According to their proposed new formula, public colleges and universities are being under-funded by millions of dollars. Linn State Technical College is under-funded by nearly $2-million. Lawmakers say this current model will probably be tweaked throughout the session, but now they have something to target. They believe they need to hold universities accountable in these times of tight budgets, but they also need to keep them funded. Lawmakers proposed a performance-based funding up to 10%.”If certain increases are given, they all get an increase. If certain decrease is given, they all get a decrease the same amount with no indication whatsoever of performance funding. So when times are tight, that’s really a time to focus on performance and to see if these institutions are doing the things we as a state think are important,” Senator David Pearce (R)-Warrensburg says.Lawmakers tell us they’re planning on having about a week of public comment before finalizing their report. Some senators say they want to have a bill filed about the solution by the end of the month.