Assets to cash

Thursday, March 8, 2007
It has been more than a year since Gov. Matt Blunt first proposed using assets from the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority to raise funds for needed constructions projects at the state's tax-supported colleges and universities. Now there is a plan that appears to satisfy nearly everyone and gives legislators some control over how the money is spent.

MOHELA is the state agency created several years ago to underwrite student loan. The aim has been to keep interest rates low on these loans. The program has been so successful that it has accumulated millions of dollars in assets. Originally, the governor proposed selling the agency outright to raise the needed construction funds. An alternative called for selling a portion of the assets, but it didn't pass legislative muster. A later plan would have bypassed the legislature entirely. Now the governor says the state can raise $350 million and keep the agency intact, giving legislators limited power over which buildings to fund.

Bottom line: If there is a way to turn assets into cash for the construction of buildings used by those same students who are paying back college loans, it makes sense.