Student loan agency transfers money for Blunt's building plan

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Missouri's student loan authority has transferred $230 million to the state to finance Governor Matt Blunt's college construction plan.

The transfer is the first installment of a plan that ultimately will take $350 million from the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority over several years. Most of the money will help finance new or improved buildings at Missouri's public colleges and universities.

A lawsuit by student borrowers tried to block the money transfer. It claimed the money should instead be used to reduce interest rates and forgive student loans. But a Cole County judge refused to issue a temporary restraining order earlier this week.

Blunt says the building improvements will benefit students for generations to come.