Lawmakers voice concern over Greitens' plan to cut higher education funding

Gov. Eric Greitens' plan for major state spending cuts to Missouri's public colleges and universities has drawn concern from Cape Girardeau County's two state representatives, who question how the schools can operate without significant tuition hikes.

State Rep. Donna Lichtenegger, R-Jackson, said Friday schools already are dealing with cuts in state aid for fiscal 2018 and adding another 10 percent in cuts for fiscal 2019 will only add to their financial difficulty.

She predicted lawmakers will craft a budget that will lessen cuts in state funding for higher education.

While Greitens has talked about the need for schools to reduce administrative costs, Lichtenegger said "every university has gone above and beyond what they need to do" to reduce spending.

"What the governor does not understand is that it is hurting students now," she said.

Kathy Swan

State Rep. Kathy Swan, R-Cape Girardeau, said, "I am not certain how much more they can tolerate."

The budget issue has "frustrated" public college and university administrators throughout the state, she said.

Swan said colleges and universities train people for increasingly high-tech jobs.

"If we do not have trained workers in the state, we will not have businesses come to the state," she said.

Greitens' proposed $28.7 billion budget for fiscal 2019 would give Missouri's colleges and universities $68 million less than existing state aid and some $90 million less than originally budgeted for higher education in the current fiscal year.

During a recent visit to Jackson to tout his tax cuts plan, Greitens cited a study he said "found" the four-campus University of Missouri system could save $70 million "just from reducing administration."

Lichtenegger, however, said that number may be too high. In addition, the governor is painting all public colleges and universities in the state with a broad brush when it comes to administrative costs, she said.

Lichtenegger added that a four-campus university system is different from a single, regional campus when it comes to administrative costs.

Greitens told reporters on Monday that "we ... brought in experts from the outside, from PricewaterhouseCoopers" to study University of Missouri system spending.

But the next day, his spokesman, Parker Briden, said in an email to the Southeast Missourian "the study was produced by the UM system itself." He said it "did not include other public universities, like SEMO."

Briden added, "We worked closely with the leaders of the UM System, and we were pleased to see that they are taking action to address this important problem with independent expert objective analysis."

Swan said she has not seen any data from the governor's office that addresses administrative costs at schools throughout the state.

"I would like hard data," she said.

Greitens told reporters during his visit to Jackson that "we are very confident" schools can cut costs and still provide high-quality education to students.

While Southeast Missouri State University and other schools face the prospect of sizable state funding cuts, state law also limits tuition increases.

Southeast president Carlos Vargas-Aburto recently said his and other schools "are essentially limited on both ends."

A 2007 Missouri law prohibits state universities from raising tuition and general fees more than the increase in the Consumer Price Index each year.

Asked whether he would support efforts to raise the tuition cap, the governor responded the solution is for schools to reduce administrative costs.

"We want to make sure that higher education is affordable for students around the state of Missouri," Greitens said during his stop in Jackson.

But Lichtenegger said schools may have to hike tuition above the state cap.

The law allows schools to ask for waivers, but Lichtenegger said lawmakers may look at ways to revise the law to allow schools more flexibility.

Swan said, "We may see additional waivers granted on this."

She said the governor's spending plan would put more of the cost of education "on the backs of students."

mbliss@semissourian.com

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