Blunt touts Mo. Senate's endorsement of 'historic' higher education plan

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Thousands of additional college students could get scholarships. Some of them could end up studying in new buildings. And their tuition could be prohibited from skyrocketing.

Gov. Matt Blunt's self-described "historic education package" won a Senate endorsement early Thursday after fellow Republicans shut off a prolonged Democratic debate, then penalized the plan's two most vocal opponents.

Although most senators embraced the scholarships and tuition caps, some Democrats claimed future students needing college loans could be harmed by Blunt's plan to take $350 million from the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority to construct college buildings.

In expectation of the building payments, the Chesterfield-based agency already has sold hundreds of millions of dollars worth of student loans owed by non-Missourians.

Democrats fear the loan sales will weaken the authority, though MOHELA officials believe they still will be able to offer low interest rates and loan forgiveness programs to Missouri students.

Filibustering Democrats blocked Blunt's plan during a grueling overnight session last month. Republicans brought back a retooled bill Wednesday, but some Democrats were prepared to again filibuster through the night.

Instead, Republicans used a procedural maneuver to halt debate early Thursday and force an immediate vote. Senators gave first-round approval, 21-12, to the bill authorizing the MOHELA building payments, a new scholarship program and tuition limits. That bill is expected to receive a final Senate vote next week to move to the House.

Then senators quickly voted, 20-13, to pass a budget bill appropriating the MOHELA money for specific building projects and spending existing state money on scholarships and health care clinics. The vote sent that bill back to House members, whose agreement is needed to advance it to Blunt's desk.

Southeast Missouri State University would receive $17.2 milion for the state's final share of funding for the nearly completed River Campus, $4.5 milion for a business incubator facility for environmental and conservation businesses; $2.6 million for a center for the diagnosis, treatment, education and research of autism; and $173,000 to complete a dental hygiene clinic at Southeast's Sikeston center.

University president Dr. Ken Dobbins praised passage of the funding measure and legislative provisions that would revamp need-based state aid for college students and extend funding to more students.

"That will make a significant difference in providing access to higher education in the state," he said.

The building projects were touted for their economic development potential and life sciences emphasis when Blunt unveiled them in January 2006. But the medical research buildings were stripped from the list and replaced with agricultural projects earlier this year to try to appease those who feared they could house embryonic stem cell research.

On Thursday, Republican senators also eliminated two more projects from the list -- a $31.2 million cancer hospital and medical education center at the University of Missouri-Columbia and a $15 million pharmacy and nursing building at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Columbia is the home of Sen. Chuck Graham, and Kansas City the home of Sen. Jolie Justus -- the two Democrats most vocally opposed to Blunt's plan.

Justus had declared the bill "just flat out bad public policy" while pledging a continued filibuster.

Graham opposed the tuition limits and warned that siphoning money from the student loan authority could jeopardize its future.

"I don't think these bright, shiny buildings are ever going to come to fruition because I think the financial underpinnings of this scheme, or this deal, are going to collapse," Graham said.

Sponsoring Sen. Gary Nodler, R-Joplin, explained the cuts by saying Republicans had essentially granted the Democratic senators their wish of blocking the buildings.

"I'd like to see these projects happen," Nodler said. But "it's pretty difficult for a project to be built when it doesn't have the support of its own senator."

Blunt was at the University of Missouri-Kansas City on Thursday to promote efforts to make Missouri campuses safer in response to the fatal shootings at Virginia Tech University.

The governor said he supported the eliminated projects, but added it was understandable for Republicans to ax them in response to Democratic opposition to the bill.

"Clearly it's a setback for UMKC, but a real big step I think for our entire system, for our students. And it's still good legislation," Blunt said in response to reporters' questions.

Blunt particularly touted the new "Access Missouri" scholarship program, which the bill would create as a replacement for the state's two main financial-need scholarships.

Community college students would be eligible for scholarships of $300 to $1,000 annually, public university students $1,000 to $2,150 annually and private school students $2,000 to $4,600 annually.

The separate appropriation bill includes an additional $25 million for financial-need scholarships, which is expected to provide aid to almost 17,000 more students than now receive it.

Senators also amended the bill to expand the "Bright Flight" academic scholarship to the top 5 percent of Missouri scorers on standardized college entrance exams, instead of the current top 3 percent. The amount of the annual scholarship would rise from the current $2,000 to $3,000 in the 2011 fiscal year for the top 3 percent of scorers; those scoring between the top 3 percent and 5 percent would get $1,000 annually starting in 2011.

Another prong of the higher education plan would limit university tuition increases to the annual rate of inflation, with some leeway to go higher for schools with below-average tuition or those granted special approval by the state Coordinating Board for Higher Education.

Southeast Missourian staff writer Mark Bliss contributed to this story.

Higher ed bill is SB389.

Building list bill is HB16

On the Net:

Legislature: http://www.moga.mo.gov