Mo. gov. releases more education funding

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon is releasing more than $5 million that had been withheld from public education because of budget concerns.

Nixon's administration cited better-than-expected lottery sales while announcing Wednesday that it was providing an additional $3 million for transportation at K-12 schools and $2.2 million for public colleges and universities.

The additional school bus funding restores less than half the amount that Nixon had withheld from that purpose while announcing state budget cuts last summer.

Nixon's budget director, Linda Luebbering, says the additional higher education funding does not reduce the nearly $17 million he had cut from institutions last summer, but rather is a release of the state's standard 3 percent operating reserve.